[Prevalence of hypovitaminosis A in children from the semiarid region of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil, 2007].

The aim of the present work was to determine the prevalence of hypovitaminosis A in children <60 months living in the semiarid region of the State of Alagoas, Brazil. The observational, transversal study involved a probabilistic sample of 652 children. Serum levels of retinol were determined using high pressure liquid chromatography and a concentration < 20 microg/dL (0,70 micromol/L) was adopted as the cut-off point indicating vitamin A deficiency.