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 .
Adding zinc to prenatal iron and folate supplements improves maternal and neonatal zinc status in a Peruvian population.
BACKGROUND Maternal zinc deficiency during pregnancy may be widespread among women in developing countries , but few data are available on whether prenatal zinc supplementation improves maternal and neonatal zinc status . OBJECTIVE We studied whether maternal zinc supplementation improved the zinc status of mothers and neonates participating in a supplementation trial in a shantytown in Lima , Peru . DESIGN Beginning at gestation week 10 - 24 , 1295 mothers were r and omly assigned to receive prenatal supplements containing 60 mg Fe and 250 microg folate , with or without 15 mg Zn .  Venous blood and urine sample s were collected at enrollment , at gestation week 28 - 30 , and at gestation week 37 - 38 . At birth , a sample of cord vein blood was collected . We measured serum zinc concentrations in 538 women , urinary zinc concentrations in 521 women , and cord zinc concentrations in 252 neonates . RESULTS At 28 - 30 and 37 - 38 wk , mothers receiving zinc supplements had higher serum zinc concentrations than mothers who did not receive zinc ( 8.8 + /- 1.9 compared with 8.4 + /- 1.5 micromol/L and 8.6 + /- 1.5 compared with 8.3 + /- 1.4 micromol/L , respectively ) . Urinary zinc concentrations were also higher in mothers who received supplemental zinc ( P < 0.05 ) . After adjustment for covariates and confounding factors , neonates of mothers receiving zinc supplements had higher cord zinc concentrations than neonates of mothers who did not receive zinc ( 12.7 + /- 2.3 compared with 12.1 + /- 2.1 micromol/L ) . Despite supplementation , maternal and neonatal zinc concentrations remained lower than values reported for well-nourished population s. CONCLUSION Adding zinc to prenatal iron and folate tablets improved maternal and neonatal zinc status , but higher doses of zinc are likely needed to further improve maternal and neonatal zinc status in this population
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 .