Impact of Giardia lamblia on Growth, Serum Levels of Zinc, Copper, and Iron in Egyptian Children

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the serological levels of zinc, copper and iron in Giardia lamblia-infected children and to study the effect of giardiasis on their weight compared to controls. We studied 30 children, 1-10 years old, who attended the outpatient clinics of Cairo University Pediatric Hospital, with gastrointestinal complaints and diagnosed as having giardiasis by stools examination, they were enrolled as a study group. The control group consisted of 30 age- and sex-matched healthy children, free of gastrointestinal complaints and free of giardiasis. Serological levels of zinc, copper, and iron were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The infected group had significantly lower weight, serum iron, and zinc than controls (P = 0.035, <0.001, and <0.001 respectively) and 63.3% of patients infected with giardiasis were 1-5 years old. In the infected cases, 60% suffered from of abdominal pain, 50% from weight loss, and 40% had intermittent diarrhea. Infected cases with weight percentiles below the fifth had significantly lower serum iron than those with normal percentiles (>5th). In conclusion, most giardiasis-infected children were between 1 and 5 years, with significant affection of weight, abdominal pain, and/or intermittent diarrhea. Serum zinc and iron levels were significantly decreased in the infected group compared to control (P < 0.001).

Effects of Dietary Zinc Manipulation on Growth Performance, Zinc Status and Immune Response during Giardia lamblia Infection: A Study in CD-1 Mice

“…A consistent change in level of zinc in the blood of children infected with G. lamblia has been noted by some investigators [6,7,8,9,10,11]. A recent study in Peru showed high risk of Giardia infection in children aged 2, with 4–8 episodes per year in endemic areas which caused alterations in the absorption of metals, especially Zn [9].…”

“…A recent study in Peru showed high risk of Giardia infection in children aged 2, with 4–8 episodes per year in endemic areas which caused alterations in the absorption of metals, especially Zn [9]. This data has been supported by other authors who have also reported decreased serum Zn levels during giardiasis [6,7,8,9,10,11]. On the other hand, eradication of G. lamblia led to a significant improvement in the mean serum Zn levels six months after treatment in schoolchildren from northwestern Mexico [12].…”

Giardia intestinalis infection associated with malnutrition in children living in northeastern Brazil

“…In Rwanda, G. intestinalis infection was identified as a predictor of being underweight and severe malnutrition [30]. Similarly, giardiasis was also a strong predictor of low HAZ in Colombia and Iran, and has also been shown to be significantly associated with lower body weight, serum zinc levels, and serum iron levels in Egypt [11,13,34]. Thus, giardiasis is perhaps currently the most harmful intestinal parasitosis to the physical development of children in endemic areas with poor sanitation conditions.…”

Zoonotic Potential and Molecular Epidemiology ofGiardiaSpecies and Giardiasis

“…Malnutrition is commonly seen in Giardiapositive children (237). In a case-control study including 30 children between 1 and 10 years old with giardiasis and 30 healthy children, the infected group had significantly lower body weight, serum iron levels, and zinc levels than controls (5). It is generally assumed that malnutrition results from malabsorption caused by giardiasis-associated chronic diarrhea.…”