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vltamln A deflc~ency (3 1%) and vltarnln B complex deflc~enc~es (32 9%) were the most
common Among lnfectlous d~sorders, worm lnfestat~on (46 4%), dental canes (27 9%)
sktn 1nfeCtlOnS (8 7%) and resplratory lnfectlon (6 0%) were common However, recall
htstory and cohort study showed fever, headache, abdornlnal pain and respiratory
lnfect~on to be the common allments In school age ch~ldren On comparing some
Important rnorb~dlty obtalned by cross sect~onal survey In this study w~th other cross
sect~onal stud~es ~t was found that there was a w~de var~at~on In the prevalence of
some of the d~sorders (Tables 5 ?A-5 28) The varlatlon could be due to any of the
following reasons (I) d~fferent d~agnost~c cr~ter~a or methods belng used by d~fferent
workers (11) seasonal varlatlon In the occurrence of d~sorders (when the studles were
carrled out) and (111) reg~onal var~atton In the prevalence of d~sorders
jb) V~tarn~n A def~ctency
The prevalence of vltarn~n A deflc~ency In the cross sect~onal study was 3 1% In a
study In Bombay Aspatwar and Bapat (1996) reported a prevalence of 77 0% and
Garg et al(1983) In Wardha reported only 10 5%
D~fferent d~agnostlc methods were
used ~n these stud~es to dlagnose wtamln A defic~ency In the current study, presence
of xerosls along w~th B~tot's spots In any one eye was used as the d~agnost~c cr~terla as
recommended by the WHO(1976) for comrnunlty survey Serum vltamln A level was
determ~ned to d~agnose vltamln A deflclency by Aspatwar and Bapat (1996) and ocular
Stgns were used by Garg et a1 (1983), who d~d not spec~fy the s~gns According to the
Crlterta la~d 3y WH0(1976), the polnt prevalence rate of more than 2 0% of XIB In the
Populat~ons at rlsk suggests a problem of publlc health rnagn~tude The magnitude of
vltamln A deflc~ency obtalned In thls survey was lndlcatlve of tt betng an Impofla 't