Dataset Information

The effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on growth in the first year of life among low-birth-weight infants in Guinea-Bissau: two by two factorial randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT: Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) may amplify the effect of vaccines. We therefore investigated if neonatal VAS given with and without Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to low-birth-weight (LBW) neonates had an effect on growth in the first year of life. We hypothesised that VAS would be particularly beneficial when provided with BCG.We conducted a randomised two-by-two factorial trial in Guinea-Bissau; 1,717 LBW neonates were randomly allocated to VAS or placebo at birth as well as early or the usual postponed BCG vaccination. Anthropometric measurements were obtained at 2, 6, and 12 months after inclusion.Overall there was no effect of neonatal VAS on growth in the first year of life. By 2 months, VAS tended to have a beneficial effect on weight and head circumference when given with BCG but not when given without BCG (interaction: weight-for-age p?=?0.07 and head circumference-for-age: p?=?0.06). By 6 months, there was a beneficial effect of VAS on head circumference and weight among children who had not received DTP vaccine 2 months after inclusion (weight: 0.18 (0.00; 0.36) and head circumference 0.27 (0.06; 0.48)), but no beneficial effect among those who had received DTP.The results support other trials indicating that neonatal VAS does not have consistent effects on childhood growth and if anything the effects seem to be temporary. They also show that the effect may differ by vaccination status, being beneficial when given with BCG at birth and when DTP is delayed.www.ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00168610).

SUBMITTER: Biering-Sorensen S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3680237 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on growth in the first year of life among low-birth-weight infants in Guinea-Bissau: two by two factorial randomised controlled trial.

Biering-Sørensen Sofie S Fisker Ane Bærent AB Ravn Henrik H Camala Luis L Monteiro Ivan I Aaby Peter P Benn Christine Stabell CS

BMC pediatrics 20130523

<h4>Background</h4>Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) may amplify the effect of vaccines. We therefore investigated if neonatal VAS given with and without Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to low-birth-weight (LBW) neonates had an effect on growth in the first year of life. We hypothesised that VAS would be particularly beneficial when provided with BCG.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a randomised two-by-two factorial trial in Guinea-Bissau; 1,717 LBW neonates were randomly allocated to VAS or pla ...[more]

PMID: 23702185

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of vitamin A supplementation and BCG vaccination at birth in low birthweight neonates.DesignRandomised, placebo controlled, two by two factorial trial.SettingBissau, Guinea-Bissau.Participants1717 low birthweight neonates born at the national hospital.InterventionNeonates who weighed less than 2.5 kg were randomly assigned to 25 000 IU vitamin A or placebo, as well as to early BCG vaccine or the usual late BCG vaccine, and were followed until age 12 months.Main outcome measureMortality, calculated as mortality rate ratios (MRRs), after follow-up to 12 months of age for infants who received vitamin A supplementation compared with those who received placebo.ResultsNo interaction was observed between vitamin A supplementation and BCG vaccine allocation (P=0.73). Vitamin A supplementation at birth was not significantly associated with mortality: the MRR of vitamin A supplementation compared with placebo, controlled for randomisation to "early BCG" versus "no early BCG" was 1.08 (95% CI 0.79 to 1.47). Stratification by sex revealed a significant interaction between vitamin A supplementation and sex (P=0.046), the MRR of vitamin A supplementation being 0.74 (95% CI 0.45 to 1.22) in boys and 1.42 (95% CI 0.94 to 2.15) in girls. When these data were combined with data from a complementary trial among normal birthweight neonates in Guinea-Bissau, the combined estimate of the effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on mortality was 1.08 (95% CI 0.87 to 1.33); 0.80 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.10) in boys and 1.41 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.90) in girls (P=0.01 for interaction between neonatal vitamin A and sex).ConclusionsThe combined results of this trial and the complementary trial among normal birthweight neonates have now shown that, overall, it would not be beneficial to implement a neonatal vitamin A supplementation policy in Guinea-Bissau. Worryingly, the trials show that vitamin A supplementation at birth can be harmful in girls. Previous studies and future trials should investigate the possibility that vitamin A supplementation has sex differential effects. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00168610.

Project description:The effect of oral polio vaccine administered already at birth (OPV0) on child survival was not examined before being recommended in 1985. Observational data suggested that OPV0 was harmful for boys, and trials have shown that neonatal vitamin A supplementation (NVAS) at birth may be beneficial for boys. We set out to test this research question in a randomised trial.The trial was carried out at the Bandim Health Project, Guinea-Bissau. We planned to enrol 900 low-birth weight (LBW) boys in a randomised trial to investigate whether NVAS instead of OPV0 could lower infant mortality for LBW boys. At birth, the children were randomised to OPV (usual treatment) or VAS (intervention treatment) and followed for 6 months for growth and 12 months for survival. Hazard Ratios (HR) for mortality were calculated using Cox regression. We compared the individual anthropometry measurements to the 2006 WHO growth reference. We compared differences in z-scores by linear regression. Relative risks (RR) of being stunted or underweight were calculated in Poisson regression models with robust standard errors.In the rainy season we detected a cluster of deaths in the VAS group and the trial was halted immediately with 232 boys enrolled. The VAS group had significantly higher mortality than the OPV0 group in the rainy season (HR: 9.91 (1.23 - 80)). All deaths had had contact with the neonatal nursery; of seven VAS boys enrolled during one week in September, six died within two months of age, whereas only one died among the six boys receiving OPV (p = 0.05). Growth (weight and arm-circumference) in the VAS group was significantly worse until age 3 months.VAS at birth instead of OPV was not beneficial for the LBW boys in this study. With the premature closure of the trial it was not possible to answer the research question. However, the results of this study call for extra caution when testing the effect of NVAS in the future.http://www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00625482. Registered 18 February 2008.

Dataset Information

The effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on growth in the first year of life among low-birth-weight infants in Guinea-Bissau: two by two factorial randomised controlled trial.

Publications

The effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on growth in the first year of life among low-birth-weight infants in Guinea-Bissau: two by two factorial randomised controlled trial.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets