Zinc deficiency associated with anaemia among young children in rural Guatemala
Date
2019Journal
Maternal and Child NutritionPublisher
Blackwell Publishing LtdType
Article
Metadata
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One in four children younger than age five in Guatemala experiences anaemia (haemoglobin <11.0 g/dl). This study characterized the factors and micronutrient deficiencies associated with anaemia in a baseline cross-sectional sample of 182 Guatemalan infants/toddlers and 207 preschoolers, using generalized linear mixed models. Associations between anaemia and maternal, child and household variables, and biomarkers (soluble transferrin receptor, ferritin, zinc, folate, vitamin B12, C-reactive protein, and ?1-acid glycoprotein) were explored. Rates of anaemia were 56% among infants/toddlers and 12.1% among preschoolers. In children with anaemia, rates of iron deficiency (low ferritin based on inflammation status, and/or high soluble transferrin receptor, ?1.97 mg/L) and zinc deficiency (serum zinc <65 ?g/dl) were 81.1% and 53.7%, respectively. Folate deficiency (either plasma folate <3 ng/ml or erythrocyte folate <100 ng/ml) was 3.3%. Vitamin B12 deficiency (plasma vitamin B12 <148 pmol/L) was 7.5%. For infants and toddlers (<24 months), the odds ratio of anaemia was lower when higher number of adults lived in the household (OR = 0.69; 95% CI [0.53, 0.90]), and higher when children were zinc deficient (OR = 3.40; 95% CI [1.54, 7.47]). For preschoolers (36-60 months), the odds ratio of anaemia was lower for every additional month of age (OR = 0.90; 95% CI [0.81, 1.00]). Findings suggest that micronutrient deficiencies coexist in Guatemalan rural children, and zinc deficiency is associated with anaemia in children <24 months, highlighting the need of continued multidisciplinary interventions with multiple micronutrients. Further research examining how household composition, feeding practices, and accessibility to micronutrient supplements and to animal source foods is needed to incorporate strategies to improve the nutritional status of Guatemalan children. Copyright 2019 The Authors.Sponsors
This study was funded by The Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition and The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Sciences of the New York Academy of Sciences.Keyword
anaemiahemoglobin
international child health nutrition
micronutrient deficiencies
undernutrition
zinc
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85074039415&doi=10.1111%2fmcn.12885&partnerID=40&md5=6beaa57cc1c97d6bd1ef4dbbe220dc73; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/11379ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/mcn.12885