Nutritional status of vitamin A in morbid obesity before and after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

The objective of the present study was to identify the factors which contribute to the appearance and/or aggravation of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) in individuals with morbid obesity in the pre- and postoperative stages of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP). Bibliography searches were done in the data-bases of Medline and Lilacs, published in the last 35 years, priorizing the studies which assessed VAD through serum levels of retinol. The principal factors identified as contributors to VAD were oxidative stress, deficiency of other nutrients, lipid malabsorption in the postoperative stage, insufficient intake of lipids and food sources of Vitamin A, and presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The investigation of the nutritional status of Vitamin A in those individuals may foment intervention strategies easily incorporated in already established routine procedures, aiming to reduce VAD rates, which will reflect upon those individuals' quality of life.