Vitamin A Deficiency and Golden Rice—A Literature Review

Purpose: To present one possible framework by which to appraise the potential for golden rice to prevent vitamin A deficiency (VAD)/xerophthalmia.Design: Literature review.Method: Twenty‐nine articles were read and the term ‘issue’ was used for factors that the authors of the articles or secondary sources identified as being either causative or protective of VAD/xerophthalmia. The term ‘issue’ was not used exclusively to indicate that the factor caused VAD/xerophthalmia.Setting: VAD and xerophthalmia in developing countries.Main Outcome Measure: The number of issues identified and the frequency with which they occurred.Results: Twenty issues were identified with varying degrees of frequency. Socio‐economic/environmental, parasitic infestation and dark green leafy vegetables were the issues mentioned most frequently. Each issue was addressed in relation to golden rice. It is difficult to ascertain whether the frequency with which an issue was raised is relative to how important it is in relation to the oth...