Endre, L; Dolowschiak, A; Sik, I; Konya, C
This article examines whether children attending nursery school receive any protective effect from the daily prophylactic administration of effervescent tablets supplementing vitamins and trace elements. The tablets investigated were the Beres Vitakid Pezsgotabletta (BVP). One tablet contains 12 mg Mg, 2 mg Fe, 4 mg Zn, 0.5 mg Cu, 0.5 mg Mn, 0.03 mg Mo, 0.01 mg Se, 30 mg vit. C, 7.5 mg niacin, 3.8 mg vit. E, 0.8 mg vit. B6, 0.65 mg vit. B2, 0.6 mg vit. B1, 2.6 mg vit. B5, 20 mg succinic acid and 15 mg glycine. Between 1 February and 12 May 1997, 234 children attending nursery school were followed up. These children were divided into three groups. One group (126 children) received one tablet of BVP daily. During the 100-day observation period, the average number of days of non-attendance at school for these children was 1.8; 87% of them did not miss school at all. The second group (23 children) received 50 mg vitamin C daily. On average, they missed 2.69 days of school; 8 of them missed school through illness. The remaining 85 children, who received no treatment, served as controls. On average, they missed 7.68 days of school.; 45 of them became ill, and 13 required antibiotic treatment. The differences between the groups were evaluated for significance by means of the Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests. There was no significant difference between the vitamin C group and the controls (p = 0.122). The difference between the vitamin C group and the BVP group was significant (p = 0.017). There was an extremely significant difference (p < 0.0000001) between the controls and the BVP group as regards the number of schooldays lost through illness. The nursery school teachers considered that BVP had further beneficial effects. 63 children exhibited an improved appetite, in 56 the ability to concentrate was enhanced, and 60 became more lively. It may be stated that, with a view to protecting nursery school children from respiratory diseases, prophylaxis with BVP (which contain trace elements and vitamins) may be applied effectively and without risk.