Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Salud y de la Vida, Universidad Internacional del Ecuador, 170113 Quito, Ecuador.
Servicio de Cirugía, Hospital Metropolitano, 170521 Quito, Ecuador.
Nutrients. 2018 Jul 5;10(7):869. doi: 10.3390/nu10070869.
Zinc is an important mineral for biological and physiological processes. Zinc deficiency (ZD) is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide and a crucial determinant of pregnancy outcomes and childhood development. Zinc levels and the zinc supplementation rate among lactating women have not been assessed neither in Ecuador nor in the Andean region. We conducted a pilot study including 64 mothers of infants between eight days to seven months old from a primary care center located in Conocoto, a peri-urban community of Quito, Ecuador. The mothers were interviewed and a fasting blood sample was taken to determine plasma zinc levels. The prevalence of ZD was calculated and compared with the prevalence of ZD among Ecuadorian non-pregnant non-lactating women, and the sample was analysed considering zinc supplementation during pregnancy. The prevalence of ZD among the participants was 81.3% (95% CI: 71.7⁻90.9), higher than the reported among non-pregnant non-lactating women (G² = 18.2; < 0.05). Zinc supplementation rate was 31.2%. No significant differences were found comparing the groups considering zinc supplementation. The insights obtained from this study encourage extending studies to document zinc levels and its interactions among breastfeeding women in areas with a high prevalence of ZD in order to determine the need of zinc supplementation.
锌是生物和生理过程的重要矿物质。锌缺乏症(ZD)是全世界最常见的微量营养素缺乏症之一,也是妊娠结局和儿童发育的关键决定因素。厄瓜多尔和安第斯地区都没有评估哺乳期妇女的锌水平和补锌率。我们进行了一项试点研究,纳入了来自厄瓜多尔基多城郊社区科农托的一家初级保健中心的 64 名 8 天大至 7 个月大婴儿的母亲。对母亲进行了访谈并采集了空腹血样以测定血浆锌水平。计算了 ZD 的患病率,并与厄瓜多尔非妊娠非哺乳期妇女的 ZD 患病率进行了比较,还分析了考虑孕期补锌的样本。参与者中 ZD 的患病率为 81.3%(95%CI:71.7⁻90.9),高于非妊娠非哺乳期妇女的报告患病率(G²=18.2;<0.05)。补锌率为 31.2%。考虑到补锌,各组之间没有发现显著差异。本研究的结果鼓励在缺锌症高发地区开展更多研究,以确定补锌的必要性,从而进一步了解哺乳期妇女的锌水平及其相互作用。