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 .
Zinc supplementation in very-low-birth-weight infants.
Inadequate zinc intake may lead to poor growth and developmental outcome in very-low-birth-weight ( VLBW ; < 1,500 g ) infants . Fifty-two infants ( mean birth weight , 1,117 + /- 287 g ; mean gestational age , 29 + /- 2.9 weeks ) were r and omly allocated to two groups . SUPP infants received a regular term formula plus zinc supplements ( 4.4 mg/L ; final content , 11 mg/L ) ; PLAC infants received the same formula plus placebo ( final content , 6.7 mg/L ) . Infants started their formula at 1,853 + /- 109 g and consumed the formula for 6 months . All subjects were evaluated at 3 , 6 , 9 , and 12 + /- 0.75 months corrected-for-gestational-age . At each evaluation , weight , length , and head circumference were measured , a Griffiths developmental assessment was performed , and a blood sample was taken . Higher plasma zinc levels ( p < 0.05 ) were found in the SUPP group at 1 and 3 months , and improved linear growth velocity was found in the SUPP group over the study period for the whole group as well as for girls alone . Maximum motor development scores were higher ( p = 0.018 ) in the SUPP ( 98 + /- 10 ) than the PLAC ( 90 + /- 8) group , indicating that increased zinc intake in early infancy may be beneficial to VLBW infants
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 .