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 .
Randomized controlled trial of the effect of zinc supplementation on the mental development of Bangladeshi infants.
BACKGROUND Zinc deficiency is thought to be common in young children in developing countries and some data suggest that it may detrimentally affect children 's development . OBJECTIVE Our goal was to assess the effect of zinc supplementation on the developmental levels and behavior of Bangladeshi infants . DESIGN This was a r and omized , double-blind , controlled trial conducted in Dhaka , Bangladesh . Three hundred one infants aged 1 mo were r and omly assigned to receive either 5 mg elemental Zn or placebo daily for 5 mo , and subsequent growth and morbidity were observed . For the present study , developmental levels were assessed in a sub sample of 212 infants at 7 and 13 mo of age with use of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development , and the infants ' behavior during the tests was observed . The children 's social background s , weights , and lengths were also recorded . RESULTS The children 's nutritional status was generally poor . The  zinc-treated group had slightly lower scores on the mental development index of the Bayley Scales than did the placebo group ( beta = 3.7 , SE = 1.3 , P < 0.005 ) . This effect remained significant when nutritional status and social background were controlled for . No other significant differences between groups were noted . CONCLUSIONS The mental development index scores of the zinc-treated group were slightly but significantly lower than those of the placebo group . This finding may have been due to micronutrient imbalance . Caution should be exercised when supplementing undernourished infants with a single micronutrient
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 .