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 .
Long-term effects of iron and zinc supplementation during infancy on cognitive function at 9 y of age in northeast Thai children: a follow-up study.
BACKGROUND Iron and zinc are important micronutrients for child growth and development . One would expect that iron and zinc supplementation in infancy would affect long-term cognitive development and school achievement , but this has not been evaluated . OBJECTIVE We investigated the effect of iron or zinc supplementation or both during infancy on cognitive performance 8 y later . DESIGN A follow-up study was performed in 560 children aged 9 y or 92 % of those who had participated in a r and omized controlled trial involving 4 groups who received daily iron , zinc , iron plus zinc , or a placebo at 4 - 6 mo of age for 6 mo .  Cognitive performance was assessed by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition ( Thai version ) , the Raven 's Colored Progressive Matrices ( CPM ) , and school performance tests . General linear mixed models were used to assess long-term effects . RESULTS No significant differences in any of the outcomes at 9 y of age were observed at follow-up between the 4 groups . Mean intelligence quotients ranged across groups from 92.9 to 93.7 for full scale , 93.9 - 95.4 for verbal , and 93.1 - 94.0 for performance . The Raven 's CPM score ranged from 21.4 to 22.4 . CONCLUSION Supplementation with iron or zinc or both during infancy does not lead to long-term cognitive improvement in 9-y-old children . This trial was registered at clinical trials.gov as NCT00824304
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 .