Does vitamin A supplementation protect schoolchildren from acquiring soil-transmitted helminthiasis? A randomized controlled trial

Table 2 Effects of vitamin A supplementation on reinfection rates of STH after 3 and 6 months of the interventions among Aboriginal schoolchildren

Infections/groups	Baseline	After 3 months^a	After 6 months^a
*Ascaris*
Vitamin A	69.4 (60.7, 76.9)	27.8 (17.6, 36.1)	76.8 (61.5, 79.1)
Placebo	65.8 (57.0, 73.7)	28.7 (17.7, 36.8)	73.1 (60.0, 77.5)
P-value	0.552	0.781	0.453
*Trichuris*
Vitamin A	96.7 (91.8, 98.6)	39.9 (29.2, 46.5)	65.8 (53.1, 68.7)
Placebo	97.5 (92.9, 99.1)	39.7 (27.6, 44.7)	66.5 (55.8, 70.1)
P-value	0.710	0.983	0.847
Hookworm
Vitamin A	14.9 (9.6, 22.3)	17.4 (4.6, 37.1)	56.4 (30.8, 69.1)
Placebo	10.8 (6.5, 17.7)	33.3 (11.4, 56.4)	51.9 (30.5, 65.0)
P-value	0.349	0.485^b	0.411

All values are prevalence/reinfection rates in percentages (95% CI).
^aReinfection rate (95% CI) of infected subjects at 3 or 6 months: (Reinfection rates = Number of infected subjects at 3 or 6 months/number of infected subjects before deworming x 100), Chi-square test.
^bFisher’s exact test.

ISSN: 1756-3305