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 tablets improves fetal neurobehavioral development.
OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine whether improvement in maternal zinc status during pregnancy is positively associated with fetal neurobehavioral development  in a Peruvian population . STUDY DESIGN We electronically monitored , at 32 and 36 weeks ' gestation , 55 fetuses whose mothers were r and omly assigned to receive , during pregnancy , a daily supplement containing 60 mg iron and 250 microg folate , with or without 15 mg zinc .  Fetal heart rate and movement patterns were quantified in 55 and 34 fetuses , respectively , as indexes of neurobehavioral development . RESULTS Fetuses of mothers who received zinc supplementation showed fewer episodes of minimal fetal heart rate variability , increased fetal heart rate range , an increased number of accelerations , an increased number of movement bouts , an increased amount of time spent moving , and an increased number of large movements . Differences by supplementation type increased with gestational age and were statistically significant at 36 weeks ' gestation ( P < .05 ) . CONCLUSION Improving maternal zinc status through prenatal supplementation may improve fetal neurobehavioral development
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 .