Efficacy of zinc supplementation on the severity and duration of diarrhea in malnourished Turkish children

• Published in: Pediatrics international Vol. 45; no. 5; pp. 555 - 559
• Main Authors: Polat, Tugçin Bora, Uysalol, Metin, Çetinkaya, Feyzullah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Pty 01.10.2003
• Subjects: acute diarrhea; Case-Control Studies; Child, Preschool; Diarrhea - drug therapy; Diarrhea - etiology; Double-Blind Method; efficacy; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutrition Disorders - blood; Infant Nutrition Disorders - physiopathology; Male; treatment; Turkey; zinc; Zinc - adverse effects; Zinc - blood; Zinc - therapeutic use; Turkey
• ISSN: 1328-8067; 1442-200X
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1442-200X.2003.01772.x

Background : Intervention trials have shown that zinc may be efficacious in treating acute diarrhea in children of developing countries. A double‐blind placebo‐controlled study was designed to evaluate the effects of zinc supplementation on the clinical course and duration of diarrhea in malnourished Turkish children. Methods : The study group comprised 40 subjects with low zinc levels (Group 1a) and 52 subjects with normal zinc levels (Group 1b). The control group was also comprised of two subgroups: 36 subjects with low zinc levels (Group 2a) and 54 subject with normal zinc levels (Group 2b). Forty‐three percent of children in the study group and 40% of controls had low serum zinc levels (<14 µmol/L), and 43% of subjects in both groups had very low serum zinc concentrations (<10 µmol/L). The study group were given 20 mg zinc per day for 10 days and the control group were given 750 mg glucose per day as a placebo for 10 days. Results : The mean duration of diarrhea was shorter and the percentage of children with consistent diarrhea for more than 3−7 days was lower in the study subgroups than in the control subgroups. Prolonged diarrhea was present in 12% of children in the study group, and in 44% and 37% of children in the hypozincemic and normozincemic control subgroups, respectively. The was no significant difference among the four subgroups of children in the number of cases with post‐enrollment diarrhea of a duration of>14 days. Stool frequency over the first 4 days after enrollment was lower in children in the study group. Conclusion : It was concluded that zinc supplementation in malnourished children with acute diarrhea may reduce the severity and duration of diarrhea, especially in children with low zinc levels.