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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Oct;27(5):632-9.
doi: 10.3329/jhpn.v27i5.3639.

Zinc deficiency: descriptive epidemiology and morbidity among preschool children in peri-urban population in Delhi, India

Usha Dhingra  1 , Girish Hiremath, Venugopal P Menon, Pratibha Dhingra, Archana Sarkar, Sunil Sazawal
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Zinc deficiency: descriptive epidemiology and morbidity among preschool children in peri-urban population in Delhi, India

Usha Dhingra et al. J Health Popul Nutr. 2009 Oct.

Abstract

Community-based data relating to factors influencing zinc deficiency among preschool children in India are inadequate. Data of a large, double-blinded, randomized, controlled zinc-supplementation trial were used for assessing the descriptive epidemiology of zinc deficiency among children aged 6-35 months (n = 940). In total, 609 children were followed up for 120 days for information on morbidity. Of these children, 116 from the control group belonging to the upper and the lower 25th quartile of plasma zinc status at baseline were selected for assessing the association of zinc deficiency with prospective morbidity. At baseline, demographic, socioeconomic and dietary information was collected, and anthropometric measurements and levels of plasma zinc were assessed. At baseline, 73.3% of the children were zinc-deficient (plasma zinc < 70 microg/dL), of which 33.8% had levels of plasma zinc below 60 microg/dL. A significantly higher risk of morbidity was prevalent among the subjects with lower plasma zinc compared to those with higher levels of plasma zinc.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic representation of study design
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Comparison of prevalence of zinc deficiency among children with acute diarrhoea and those without diarrhoea
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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