There is no convincing evidence that zinc supplementation to infants or children results in improved motor or mental development
BACKGROUND Zinc deficiency is a significant public health problem in low- and middle-income countries .
Zinc is essential for the formation and migration of neurons along with the formation of neuronal synapses .
Its deficiency could interfere with the formation of neural pathways and with neurotransmission , thus affecting behavior ( for example , attention , activity , engagement , temperament ) and development ( for example , gross and fine motor skills , social skills ) .
Zinc supplementation provided to infants and children is a possible strategy to improve the mental and motor development of infants and children at high risk of zinc deficiency .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of zinc supplementation compared to placebo on measures of psychomotor development or cognitive function in children .
Growth and body composition of periurban Guatemalan children in relation to zinc status: a longitudinal zinc intervention trial.
Changes in growth , body composition , and zinc indexes were evaluated after 25 wk in a double-blind zinc-supplementation study of 162 periurban Guatemalan children aged 81.5 + /- 7.0 mo ( mean + /- SD ) . Children receiving the zinc supplement ( 10 mg Zn/d as amino acid chelate ) for 90.1 + /- 9.2 d had higher mean fasting plasma zinc ( 16.2 + /- 2.9 vs 14.9 + /- 2.1 mumol/L , P < 0.01 ) , a greater increase in median triceps skinfold Z score ( 0.50 vs 0.38 , P < 0.05 ) , and a smaller deficit in median midarm circumference ( MAC ) Z score ( -0.03 vs -0.20 , P < 0.05 ) compared with the placebo group . Initial hair zinc classified as < 1.68 and > 1.68 mumol/g was the only laboratory variable that explained some of the variance in final Z scores of midarm-muscle area ( P < 0.05 ) and MAC ( P < 0.01 ) . Children responded to the zinc supplement with changes in indexes of body composition rather than growth
There is no convincing evidence that zinc supplementation to infants or children results in improved motor or mental development
BACKGROUND Zinc deficiency is a significant public health problem in low- and middle-income countries .
Zinc is essential for the formation and migration of neurons along with the formation of neuronal synapses .
Its deficiency could interfere with the formation of neural pathways and with neurotransmission , thus affecting behavior ( for example , attention , activity , engagement , temperament ) and development ( for example , gross and fine motor skills , social skills ) .
Zinc supplementation provided to infants and children is a possible strategy to improve the mental and motor development of infants and children at high risk of zinc deficiency .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of zinc supplementation compared to placebo on measures of psychomotor development or cognitive function in children .