Allen L H
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis 95616-8669.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 1994 Feb;48 Suppl 1:S75-89.
The first section of this paper reviews what is known about the roles of specific nutrients in the general linear growth faltering that occurs in developing countries. Those reviewed are energy, protein, zinc, iron, copper, iodine and vitamin A. For none of these nutrients was there clear, consistent evidence that supplementation with the nutrient benefited linear growth. Rather, interventions with each specific nutrient had a positive effect on length gain in some studies, while in others these affected only weight gain or had no effect. Reasons for these conflicting results are suggested, including the strong probability that growth is limited by multiple, simultaneous deficiencies in many populations. This point is illustrated with data from the Nutrition Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) and other reports. Most interventions with single nutrients have been tested on children older than the age when linear growth faltering is most rapid, that is, within a few months of birth. Possible reasons why growth stunting begins so early in life are presented, but these are mostly hypothetical because of the paucity of information on this topic.
本文的第一部分回顾了关于特定营养素在发展中国家普遍出现的线性生长发育迟缓中所起作用的已知情况。所涉及的营养素包括能量、蛋白质、锌、铁、铜、碘和维生素A。对于这些营养素中的任何一种，都没有明确、一致的证据表明补充该营养素对线性生长有益。相反，在一些研究中，针对每种特定营养素的干预措施对身长增加有积极影响，而在另一些研究中，这些措施仅影响体重增加或没有效果。文中提出了这些相互矛盾结果的原因，包括很有可能在许多人群中生长受到多种同时存在的营养素缺乏的限制。营养协作研究支持项目（CRSP）的数据及其他报告说明了这一点。大多数单一营养素的干预措施都是在比线性生长发育迟缓最迅速的年龄（即出生后几个月内）更大的儿童身上进行测试的。文中还提出了生长发育迟缓在生命早期就开始的可能原因，但由于关于这一主题的信息匮乏，这些原因大多是假设性的。
