Center for Global Development, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom.
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA, United States; Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Adv Nutr. 2024 Mar;15(3):100181. doi: 10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100181. Epub 2024 Jan 26.
Through diverse roles, zinc determines a greater number of critical life functions than any other single micronutrient. Beyond the well-recognized importance of zinc for child growth and resistance to infections, zinc has numerous specific roles covering the regulation of glucose metabolism, and growing evidence links zinc deficiency with increased risk of diabetes and cardiometabolic disorders. Zinc nutriture is, thus, vitally important to health across the life course. Zinc deficiency is also one of the most common forms of micronutrient malnutrition globally. A clearer estimate of the burden of health disparity attributable to zinc deficiency in adulthood and later life emerges when accounting for its contribution to global elevated fasting blood glucose and related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Yet progress attenuating its prevalence has been limited due, in part, to the lack of sensitive and specific methods to assess human zinc status. This narrative review covers recent developments in our understanding of zinc's role in health, the impact of the changing climate and global context on zinc intake, novel functional biomarkers showing promise for monitoring population-level interventions, and solutions for improving population zinc intake. It aims to spur on implementation of evidence-based interventions for preventing and controlling zinc deficiency across the life course. Increasing zinc intake and combating global zinc deficiency requires context-specific strategies and a combination of complementary, evidence-based interventions, including supplementation, food fortification, and food and agricultural solutions such as biofortification, alongside efforts to improve zinc bioavailability. Enhancing dietary zinc content and bioavailability through zinc biofortification is an inclusive nutrition solution that can benefit the most vulnerable individuals and populations affected by inadequate diets to the greatest extent.
通过多种角色，锌决定了比其他任何单一微量营养素更多的关键生命功能。除了锌对儿童生长和抗感染的重要性已被广泛认识外，锌还具有许多特定的作用，涵盖了葡萄糖代谢的调节，越来越多的证据将锌缺乏与糖尿病和心脏代谢紊乱的风险增加联系起来。因此，锌营养对整个生命过程的健康至关重要。锌缺乏也是全球最常见的微量营养素营养不良形式之一。当考虑到锌对全球空腹血糖升高和相关非传染性疾病（NCD）的贡献时，成人和晚年因锌缺乏导致的健康差异负担的更准确估计就会出现。然而，由于缺乏评估人体锌状况的敏感和特异方法，减轻其流行程度的进展受到限制。本文综述了我们对锌在健康中的作用的最新认识、气候变化和全球背景对锌摄入的影响、具有监测人群干预效果潜力的新型功能生物标志物，以及改善人群锌摄入的解决方案。它旨在推动实施循证干预措施，以预防和控制整个生命过程中的锌缺乏。增加锌的摄入量和防治全球锌缺乏需要具体情况具体分析的策略以及一系列互补的循证干预措施，包括补充剂、食物强化以及生物强化等食物和农业解决方案，同时努力提高锌的生物利用度。通过锌的生物强化提高膳食锌含量和生物利用度是一种包容性的营养解决方案，可以最大程度地惠及受饮食不足影响最大的最脆弱的个人和人群。
