Vitamin A
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- Formal Name:
- Retinol

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At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To detect vitamin A deficiency or toxicity
When To Get Tested?
When you have symptoms suggesting a vitamin A deficiency or excess, or are at risk for a deficiency
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein
Test Preparation Needed?
Fasting is required and no alcohol should be consumed for 24 hours before sample collection.
You may be able to find your test results on your laboratory’s website or patient portal. However, you are currently at Testing.com. You may have been directed here by your lab’s website in order to provide you with background information about the test(s) you had performed. You will need to return to your lab’s website or portal, or contact your healthcare practitioner in order to obtain your test results.
Testing.com is an award-winning patient education website offering information on laboratory tests. The content on the site, which has been reviewed by laboratory scientists and other medical professionals, provides general explanations of what results might mean for each test listed on the site, such as what a high or low value might suggest to your healthcare practitioner about your health or medical condition.
The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report. They are typically found to the right of your results.
If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range.
Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. They are sometimes called “normal” values. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases.
While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are “within normal limits.”
For more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean.
What is being tested?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many of the foods we eat. Retinol is the primary form of vitamin A in humans. This test measures the level of retinol in the blood.
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient required for healthy vision and skin, bone formation, immune system function, and reproduction. It is required to produce photoreceptors in the eyes and to maintain the lining of the surface of the eyes and other mucous membranes. A lack of vitamin A can affect night vision, cause eye damage, and in severe cases, lead to blindness. Too much vitamin A can be toxic, causing a range of symptoms, and sometimes leading to birth defects.
The body cannot make vitamin A and must rely on dietary sources of vitamin A. Meat sources provide vitamin A (as retinol), while vegetable and fruit sources provide carotene (a substance that can be converted into vitamin A by the liver). Vitamin A is stored in the liver and fat tissues (it is fat-soluble), and healthy adults may have as much as a year’s worth stored. The body maintains a relatively stable level in the blood through a feedback system that releases vitamin A from storage as needed and increases or decreases the efficiency of dietary vitamin A absorption.
Deficiencies in vitamin A are rare in the United States, but they are a major health problem in as many as half of all countries, especially in resource-poor nations where high numbers of people have limited diets, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness. Young children and pregnant women are most commonly affected, say the WHO.
In the U.S., vitamin A deficiencies are primarily seen in those with malnutrition, chronic diarrhea, malabsorption disorders such as celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, or chronic pancreatitis, in the elderly, and in those with alcoholism, liver disease and blockage of the bile ducts. Surgery either on the intestine or pancreas can have the similar consequences.
Vitamin A deficiency is a risk factor for severe measles; treatment with vitamin A can shorten the duration of the disorder and may reduce the severity of symptoms and risk of death.
Vitamin A toxicity occurs primarily from overuse of vitamin supplements. However, it can sometimes occur when the diet includes a high proportion of foods that are high in vitamin A, such as liver.
Common Questions
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
2020 Review performed by Hoon Loi, Chong, MD, FASN, FRSPH, IPFPH, Physician, MJ Health Care Centre.
Johnson L. Vitamin A Deficiency. Nutrition Disorders. MSD Manual Professional Edition. Last full review August 2020.
(February 14, 2020) NIH, Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). Vitamin A. Available online at https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-Consumer/. Accessed May 2020.
(May 28, 2020) Olson J, Ameer M, Goyal A. Vitamin A Toxicity. StatPearls. Available online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532916/. Accessed May 2020.
(2020) World Health Organization. Micronutrient deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiency. Available online at https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/vad/en/. Accessed May 2020.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
Schwartz, R. et. al. (Updated 2011 January 7). Dermatologic Manifestations of Vitamin A Deficiency. eMedicine [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1104441-overview. Accessed March 2011.
Ansstas, G. and Thakore, J. (Updated 2010 December 28). Vitamin A Deficiency. eMedicine [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/126004-overview. Accessed March 2011.
Eledrisi, M. et. al. (Updated 2009 September 2). Vitamin A Toxicity. eMedicine [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/126104-overview. Accessed March 2011.
Dugdale, D. (Updated 2009 November 15). Vitamin A test. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003570.htm. Accessed March 2011.
Vorvick, L. (Updated 2009 November 1). Beta-carotene test. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003571.htm. Accessed March 2011.
Dugdale, D. (Updated 2010 May 23). Hypervitaminosis A. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000350.htm. Accessed March 2011.
Frank, E. et. al. (Updated 2010 December). Vitamins. ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/Vitamins.html?client_ID=LTD. Accessed March 2011.
(© 1995-2011). Unit Code 60298: Vitamin A, Serum. Mayo Medical Laboratories [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/print.php?unit_code=60298. Accessed March 2011.
Clarke, W. and Dufour, D. R., Editors (© 2006). Contemporary Practice in Clinical Chemistry: AACC Press, Washington, DC. Pp 400-401.
Wu, A. (© 2006). Tietz Clinical Guide to Laboratory Tests, 4th Edition: Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis, MO. Pp 1116-1119.
Barclay, L. (2010 December 8). Vitamin A May Reduce Deaths From Measles and Diarrhea in Children. Medscape Today from Medscape Medical News [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/733832. Accessed March 2011.
Wisse, B. (2014 May 10 Updated). Hypervitaminosis A. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000350.htm. Accessed on 8/29/15.
Dugdale, D. (2013 November 1 Updated). Vitamin A blood test. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003570.htm. Accessed on 8/29/15.
Frank, E. et. al. (2015 July Updated). Vitamins. ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/Vitamins.html?client_ID=LTD#tabs=0. Accessed on 8/29/15.
Ansstas, G. et. al. (2014 June 11 Updated). Vitamin A Deficiency. Medscape Drugs & Diseases [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/126004-overview. Accessed on 8/29/15.
Rosenbloom, M. and Gentili, A. (2014 October 14 Updated). Vitamin Toxicity. Medscape Drugs & Diseases [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/819426-overview. Accessed on 8/29/15.
(© 1995–2015). Vitamin A, Serum. Mayo Clinic Mayo Medical Laboratories [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/60298. Accessed on 8/29/15.
(Sept 29, 2009) Lieber C. Relationships Between Nutrition, Alcohol Use, and Liver Disease. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Available online at http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-3/220-231.htm. Accessed October 2015.
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