Pediatrics at the Canberra Hospital, TCH, Australian Capital Territory, ACT, Australia.
Clin Nutr. 2013 Apr;32(2):193-9. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2012.08.018. Epub 2012 Aug 31.
BACKGROUND & AIM: Acute lower respiratory infections are the most frequent illnesses globally in children less than 5 years old. The aim of this randomized double blind controlled trial is to assess the effectiveness of zinc gluconate supplementation for 2 months period compared to placebo in reducing respiratory morbidity in acute lower respiratory infected children up to 5 years of age living in zinc poor population.
Children were randomly assigned to receive either 10 mg zinc gluconate or placebo for 60 days. Demographic and clinical data were collected at baseline and every two weeks for 180 days.
The final analysis included 96 children allocated equally to the two groups. The number of episodes of acute lower respiratory infections and severe acute lower respiratory infections were significantly lower in zinc group compared to placebo group (20.8% vs. 45.8% (P = 0.009) and 21.7% vs. 58.3% (P < 0.001), respectively). The acute lower respiratory infections free days were higher in the zinc supplemented group (P < 0.001). The median recovery time of morbidity was significantly shorter in zinc group (P < 0.001).
Zinc supplement may result in significant reduction in respiratory morbidity among children with acute lower respiratory infections in zinc poor population. This study was registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no. NCT00536133.
急性下呼吸道感染是全球 5 岁以下儿童最常见的疾病。本随机双盲对照试验的目的是评估在锌缺乏人群中，2 个月的葡萄糖酸锌补充与安慰剂相比，对急性下呼吸道感染儿童的呼吸道发病率的降低效果。
将儿童随机分配接受 10mg 葡萄糖酸锌或安慰剂，共 60 天。在基线和 180 天内每两周收集一次人口统计学和临床数据。
最终分析包括 96 名平均分配到两组的儿童。与安慰剂组相比，锌组的急性下呼吸道感染和严重急性下呼吸道感染的发作次数明显减少（20.8%比 45.8%（P=0.009）和 21.7%比 58.3%（P<0.001））。补锌组的急性下呼吸道感染无病天数更高（P<0.001）。发病率的中位数恢复时间在补锌组明显缩短（P<0.001）。
锌补充可能会显著降低锌缺乏地区急性下呼吸道感染儿童的呼吸道发病率。本研究在 ClinicalTrials.gov 注册号为 NCT00536133 下进行。
