Hair zinc levels in rural Costa Rican infants and preschool children.

Correlations between hair zinc and age, sex, weight, and length were determined on 138 boys and girls aged 6 months to 4 years from a low socioeconomic region of rural Costa Rica. Zinc deficiency, as assessed by hair zinc concentrations of less than 70 microgram/g, was observed in only a few of these children. A negative correlation between hair zinc and growth parameters was obtained, which may reflect increased zinc needs during rapid growth. Females had significantly more zinc in hair than males of similar age. This study confirms previous findings that normally growing infants and preschool children have normal hair zinc levels.