Nutrition

Micronutrient Deficiency

Micronutrient deficiencies continue to affect large numbers of China's population at all stages of the life cycle and across generations. Deficiencies in mothers have serious consequences for children.

China has enjoyed major success in fighting Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). A common cause of goiters, IDD can also impair fetal brain development. China proved its capacity to conquer this problem by successfully achieving Universal Salt Iodization (USI), with more than 90 percent of households using iodized salt as of 1999. A 2002 national survey showed this coverage level had actually increased to 95 percent.

Nevertheless, many provinces suffer persistent deficiencies in critical micronutrients such as iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, folic acid, and zinc. These deficiencies increase maternal mortality levels and the risk of lethal infection while reducing learning capacity and impeding mental development.

Sometimes even well-off populations can be harmed by micronutrient deficiencies. Despite China's success in achieving USI, many comparatively well-nourished populations don't use iodized salt, resulting in stunted brain development or poor academic performance among children.

Other serious micronutrient deficiencies include the following:

- Iron deficiency anemia (IDA), which increases maternal mortality and cause fatigue and reduced productivity. It is serious among women of child-bearing age in both rural (41%) and urban (28%) areas. Among young children, IDA can impair social and cognitive development, reduce school performance, and increase morbidity. The prevalence of IDA in this group is 16.4%, with those in rural areas being at greater risk of IDA (27% prevalence rate) than those in urban areas (12% prevalence rate).

- Vitamin A deficiency, which increases child mortality and can cause blindness, is basically a rural problem with a prevalence of 23% in rural areas but 3.8% in cities.

- Vitamin D deficiency has serious consequences, including increased incidence of rickets, osteoporosis, increased cancer rates, and autoimmune diseases.

- Folate deficiency is responsible for 70% of neural tube defects (NTDs) at birth. In some rural areas, it has led to unacceptably high levels of neural tube defects (19 per 1,000 births in Shanxi province, according to China's Ministry of Health).

- Zinc deficiency worsens pregnancy outcomes, immune functions, and possibly abnormal neurobehavioral development. Unfortunately, there are no national estimates of the prevalence of zinc deficiency in China.

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