Department of Pediatrics, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Department of Pediatric Metabolism and Nutrition, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
World J Pediatr. 2017 Aug;13(4):360-366. doi: 10.1007/s12519-017-0007-8. Epub 2017 Jan 19.
Subclinical micronutrient deficiencies have been gradually becoming more important as a public health problem and drawing attention of the health authorities. Today it has been known that detecting and treating people having deficiency symptoms alone is no longer sufficient. It is important to detect and prevent any deficiency before it displays clinical manifestations. Zinc deficiency is one of the most widespread micronutrient deficiencies. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the zinc status and the associated factors in healthy school-age children.
The study was carried out in schools in Altindag, the district of Ankara. A total of 1063 healthy children, 585 girls and 478 boys, aged 5-16 years were included in the study. Serum zinc, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels and white blood cell count were measured. A serum zinc level <65 μg/dL was considered as subclinical zinc deficiency for children <10 years of age. For children ≥10 years of age the cutoffs for serum zinc concentration were set at 66 μg/dL for females and 70 μg/dL for males. A questionnaire was developed to collect socioeconomic and demographic information of the participants.
The prevalence of subclinical zinc deficiency in children attending the study was detected to be 27.8%. This high ratio showed zinc deficiency was an important health problem in the Altindag district of Ankara, Turkey.
Evaluating the indicators of zinc deficiency such as serum zinc concentration, dietary zinc intake and stunting prevalence, this study is the most comprehensive epidemiological study performed in children in Turkey. This study reveals the high prevalence of subclinical zinc deficiency and indicates that zinc deficiency is a public health concern for the study population.
亚临床微量营养素缺乏症逐渐成为一个重要的公共卫生问题，并引起了卫生当局的关注。如今，人们已经认识到，仅仅检测和治疗有缺乏症状的人已经不够了。在出现临床症状之前，检测和预防任何缺乏症都很重要。锌缺乏症是最广泛的微量营养素缺乏症之一。在这项研究中，我们旨在评估健康学龄儿童的锌状况及其相关因素。
该研究在安卡拉的阿尔廷达格区的学校进行。共有 1063 名健康儿童，585 名女孩和 478 名男孩，年龄在 5-16 岁之间，纳入了这项研究。测量了血清锌、高敏 C 反应蛋白水平和白细胞计数。血清锌水平<65μg/dL 被认为是<10 岁儿童的亚临床锌缺乏症。对于≥10 岁的儿童，血清锌浓度的截断值分别为女性 66μg/dL 和男性 70μg/dL。制定了一份问卷，以收集参与者的社会经济和人口统计学信息。
研究中发现，儿童亚临床锌缺乏症的患病率为 27.8%。这个高比例表明，锌缺乏症是土耳其安卡拉阿尔廷达格区的一个重要健康问题。
通过评估血清锌浓度、膳食锌摄入量和生长迟缓流行率等锌缺乏指标，本研究是在土耳其进行的最全面的儿童流行病学研究。本研究揭示了亚临床锌缺乏症的高患病率，并表明锌缺乏症是该研究人群的一个公共卫生问题。
