11 Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin A Deficiency

Vitamin A deficiency contributes to being a major cause on a worldwide scale for preventable blindness in children. 

If you, too, are anxious about diseases caused by deficiency of vitamin A, fret not! This particular article would act as a perfect guide and let you know all the vital facts about the deficiency of this vitamin.

Read through!

In simple terms, the deficiency of the fat-soluble vitamin A refers to the inadequate presence of this vitamin in the body. The deficiency of this vitamin which is responsible for several bodily functions like a strong immune system, reproduction, good skin health and good vision, is found to be rarely present in developed countries but usually found in developing nations.

Vitamin A deficiency turns out to be a public health issue in over half of all the nations, and this especially includes the ones in South-East Asia and Africa.

Vitamin A deficiency is relatively common, particularly in developing countries where diets may lack sufficient amounts of this essential nutrient. It is a significant public health issue, especially among young children and pregnant women, due to its critical role in vision, immune function, and overall health.

Efforts to address this deficiency often include supplementation programs, food fortification, and dietary diversity promotion to ensure adequate intake of vitamin A-rich foods.

The cause of vitamin A deficiency is getting an inadequate amount of vitamin A in the body.  Usually, dietary deficiency is the reason behind it, but there are chances that disorders interfering with the storage, transport or absorption of vitamin A might also cause a deficiency.

Pregnant women, infants, children and breastfeeding mothers are among those at a high risk of the deficiency of this vitamin.

In addition to these, a secondary deficiency might take place in individuals having underlying issues such as:

• Cystic fibrosis
• Cirrhosis
• Chronic diarrhea
• Celiac disease
• Duodenal bypass
• Bile duct obstruction
• If you are wondering how vitamin A deficiency is diagnosed, an eye exam is used for that. The levels of vitamin A in the blood can be measured by a blood test.

Diagnosis of the lack of vitamin A entails carrying out various essential methods for determining and confirming its presence in people.

Physical Examination

Through comprehensive physical examination, several signs can be identified which are related to vitamin A deficiency like skin and eyes dryness, night blindness, and delay in the wound healing process.

Dietary Assessment

This assists in identifying whether a patient is eating enough food containing vitamin A like liver, fish oils, dairy products and green leafy vegetables.

Serum Retinol Levels

Blood tests measure serum retinol levels to determine vitamin A status. Low levels of serum retinol are considered as deficient concentration which is defined as lower than 0.70 μmol/L (20 μg/dL).

Medical History Review

Checking medical history provides information on diseases that affect the absorption or utilisation of vitamin A such as malabsorption syndromes or liver diseases.

Ophthalmological Examination

The eyes are examined through an ophthalmological study including the detection of Bitot’s spots and other ocular manifestations caused by lack of vitamin A.

These diagnostic approaches enable healthcare providers to make the right diagnosis for vitamin A deficiency and initiate necessary interventions to manage it effectively.

Individuals looking for ways as to how to prevent vitamin A deficiency must note that eating dark green leafy vegetables, orange and yellow fruits like oranges and papayas, carrots, and yellow vegetables like squash and pumpkin are helpful in the prevention.

Milk and cereals are some other sources of food that are fortified with vitamin A. The carotenoids that give orange, red or yellow colour to vegetables and fruits, and get converted to vitamin A in the body are absorbed in the best manner from homogenized or cooked vegetables served with oil or fat.

For vitamin A deficiency treatment, both oral and injectable forms of vitamin A can be undertaken. In the oral form, vitamin A supplementation proves to be effective when it comes to reducing morbidity risk, especially from severe diarrhoea and lowering all-cause mortality and mortality arising out of measles.

Besides these, dietary diversification and food fortification also prove to be useful for overcoming vitamin A deficiency. The richest animal sources of vitamin A include the liver (cod liver oil and beef liver).

Individuals having deficiency of vitamin A are administered high vitamin A doses for several days, usually via the mouth. This is followed by lower doses until the conditions of skin and vision improvement. Repeated high doses should not be given to infants as such doses can prove to be toxic.

Make sure to include plenty of vitamin A-rich foods in your diet to prevent and treat deficiency. Below, you'll find a variety of top food sources, including fruits, vegetables, and other options, that are rich in this essential nutrient.

Fruits to Overcome Vitamin A Deficiency

Discover a selection of vitamin A-rich fruits highlighted in the table below, essential for overcoming and preventing deficiencies to support your health and well-being:

Vegetables to Overcome Vitamin A Deficiency

Take a look at a variety of vitamin A-rich vegetables in the table below, ranging from vibrant carrots to nutrient-packed spinach, essential for supporting your health and well-being.

Other Eatables to Overcome Vitamin A Deficiency

Here are some other foods, aside from fruits and vegetables, that are extremely rich sources of vitamin A:

If you don't address early signs of vitamin A deficiency, you may experience:

• Night blindness 
• Dry eyes and skin 
• Increased susceptibility to infections, particularly respiratory infections 
• Delayed growth in children 
• Poor wound healing 
• Reproductive complications, such as difficulty conceiving

These symptoms may not always be diagnosed as signs of vitamin A deficiency, but if left untreated, it can lead to severe outcomes. Taking early action through dietary changes, vitamin supplements, or medical treatment is crucial to prevent these serious health consequences associated with vitamin A deficiency.

Vitamin A deficiency may result in many severe ailments:

• Night Blindness: It first displays difficulty seeing in dim light or at night which ends up causing total blindness.
• Xerophthalmia: This type involves dry eyes which can cause blindness when not treated.
• Infectious Diseases: Vitamin A insufficiency enhances disease vulnerability such as respiratory infections for instance measles and diarrhoea which sometimes cannot be avoided and become life-threatening, particularly among children.
• Impaired Growth: The growth of affected children may be slow and their bone development may also take longer than normal.
• Reproductive Issues: There are reproductive health challenges arising from vitamin A deficiency including high risks associated with maternal deaths and child deaths.
• Immune System Impairment: There could be a decline in the strength of our immune systems meaning more frequent and worse illnesses.

Early identification and treatment through dietary adjustments, supplementation, or medical intervention are crucial to prevent these health complications associated with vitamin A deficiency.

Vitamins, on a biological scale, get absorbed within a few hours and show immediate metabolic effects. Having mentioned that, there exist several factors which affect their efficacy, prevent the body from fully absorbing them and hence helps determine how long it takes to correct vitamin A deficiency. These include:

• Levels of Deficiency: If someone is highly deficient in a specific mineral or vitamin, it might take up a long time for its rectification. Alternatively, there might be a necessity for a high dosage to ensure a faster recovery.
• Supplement Type: Vitamins administered in the capsule form would, in most cases, have a slower effect than in liquid form. This is due to the fact that the body needs to break down a capsule and extract the vitamins present inside.
• Fat vs Water-soluble Vitamins: Fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A need fat to be absorbed. This can only take place by taking them along with food or mixing the nutrients with a fat present in the liquid or capsule. Vitamins that are fat-soluble in nature are stored in the body and hence might not require regular or high doses like the ones that are water-soluble in nature.
• Nutrient Pairing: There are a number of minerals and vitamins which are interrelated in the way they work. They get better absorbed if they are paired with each other. 
• Habits and Lifestyle: Some particular lifestyle habits and factors like smoking and drinking alcohol might cause malabsorption, and a higher intake might be necessary for maintaining equilibrium.
• Health Issues: Certain health problems can result in malabsorption like some people cannot absorb some vitamins due to gut diseases like coeliac or inflammatory bowel disease.

Some people are more at risk of developing vitamin A deficiency due to factors that affect how the body produces, absorbs, or uses this nutrient. Identifying these risk factors is important for detecting deficiency early and managing it effectively.

• Young Children: Infants and young children are at risk because of inadequate intake of vitamin A-rich foods in their diet and high demands for nutrition during growth.
• Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women: Pregnant women and lactating mothers may lack the required increased vitamin A intake.
• Individuals with Poor Diets: Lack of a variety of fruits, vegetables and animal products in one’s meals can lead to an insufficient supply of vitamin A.
• People with Malabsorption Issues: Conditions like Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis or certain surgical operations make it hard for the body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, via food.
• Those with Liver Diseases: some liver conditions might damage the ability to convert vitamin A affecting its presence in a person.
• Alcoholics: It interferes with the absorption and storage of this vitamin in the liver when alcohol is taken excessively over a long period.
• Individuals with Certain Health Conditions: Conditions affecting bile production or pancreatic function may also lead to reduced absorption of vitamin A.
• Vegetarians and Vegans: Those who do not consume animal products need to ensure adequate intake of provitamin A carotenoids found in fruits and vegetables.
• People in Low-Income Countries: Deficiency is common where vitamin A-rich diets are scarce or expensive.

After going through this article regarding vitamin A deficiency, you are now aware of which disease is caused by deficiency of vitamin A and all other related facts. Every individual must be aware of these facts as it would help them take care of themselves and their close ones.