Effects of zinc supplementation on nutritional status and cognition in children

  • Retno Asih S
  • Endang Warsiki
  • Boerhan Hidajat
Keywords: zinc deficiency, zinc supplementation, nutritional status, cognition

Abstract

Background Zinc deficiency is common in children in develop-
ing countries and data suggests the effects are detrimental towards
children’s growth and neuropsychologic performance. Results of
multiple studies which assess these effects have been inconsis-
tent.
Objective To evaluate the effects of zinc supplementation on
nutritional status and cognition in children with zinc deficiency.
Methods Forty-six stunted children aged 50-80 months with low
hair zinc levels were randomly assigned to receive either 7.5 mg
elemental Zn or placebo twice a week for 3 months. Anthropom-
etry and cognition were assessed at the beginning and the end of
the supplementation period. Differences among both groups for
anthropometry and cognition before and after supplementation were
analyzed with paired t-test. A comparison of different anthropom-
etry and cognition among the two groups were analyzed using the
independent t-test.
Results There were no significant differences among baseline
characteristics except on sex distribution.There was a significant
difference in weight for age between the zinc group and placebo
[0.28 (SB 0.18) vs 0.09 (SB 0.14); P=0.0001]. Height increments
were also greater in the zinc group [0.34 (SB 0.15) vs 0.02 (SB
0.12); P=0.0001). There was no significant difference between
weight for height. Intelligence quotient (IQ) measured by the
Stanford-Binnet test was slightly higher in the zinc group [2.26 (SB
3.11) vs 2.00 (SB 2.81], but the difference was not significant ac-
cording to sex.
Conclusion Zinc supplementation produced highly positive re-
sponses in weight for age and height for age increments in chil-
dren with zinc deficiency compared with placebo. There was no
effect of zinc supplementation on weight for height index and none
on cognition measured by intelligence quotient (IQ)

Author Biographies

Retno Asih S
Department of Child Health, Airlangga University, Surabaya,
Indonesia
Endang Warsiki
Department of Psychiatry, Airlangga University,
Surabaya, Indonesia
Boerhan Hidajat
Department of Child Health, Airlangga University, Surabaya,
Indonesia

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Published
2016-10-18
How to Cite
1.
S R, Warsiki E, Hidajat B. Effects of zinc supplementation on nutritional status and cognition in children. PI [Internet]. 18Oct.2016 [cited 3Dec.2024];46(2):64-0. Available from: https://paediatricaindonesiana.org/index.php/paediatrica-indonesiana/article/view/903
Section
Articles
Received 2016-10-13
Accepted 2016-10-13
Published 2016-10-18