The investigation of night blindness in the mother-child group: a historical review

The aim of this study was to provide a historical review of night blindness, a functional indicator of vitamin A deficiency. The scientific literature published in the period from 1929 to 2005 was reviewed, using Medline, Lilacs, SciELO, National and International Health and Micronutrients Comities databases. The key words used were: night blindness, xerophthalmia, pregnancy, postpartum women, newborn, children, vitamin A deficiency, micronutrient. The importance of the functional indicator of vitamin A deficiency has been consecrated in 1996 by the World Health Organization through the recommendation of a standardized interview to investigate cases of night blindness. The method is characterized by methodological easiness, low cost and it allows the monitoring of the nutritional status of people and communities, and evaluation of the efficacy of interventions. Recent studies suggest that this indicator is also useful for diagnosing subclinical vitamin A deficiency among pregnant women and postpartum women, since the agreement with biochemical indicators is expressive. Along the years, this indicator has also been recognized as an important instrument to predict the risk of morbidity and mortality in the mother-child dyad.