Low vitamin A and zinc concentrations in Mexican-American migrant children with growth retardation

Abstract

Nutritional evaluations were undertaken on 102 Mexican-American preschool children who were below the 3rd percentile for height, weight, or head circumference. Serum vitamin A concentrations were low in 36 of 102 children (35%). Hair zinc concentrations were low in 28 of 96 children (29%) and plasma zinc concentrations were low in 35 of 94 children (37%). Children with only low height had a mean hair zinc level of 87.5 microgram/g, whereas those with only low weight had a mean level of 108.6 microgram/g and those with only low head circumference had a mean level of 100.1 microgram/g. There was no correlation of height percentiles with plasma zinc, hair zinc, or serum vitamin A. However, further studies are needed to determine if there is a relationship between growth retardation and zinc and/or vitamin A status in this population.

Hair zinc status and its correlation with height indicator in pre-school and school children from a mixed income, low density (mild) community in southern Ghana

“…The etiology of growth retardation in zinc deficiency is unknown but it is suggested to be related to nutrition and/or genetics or both; however it is believed that in the pre-school age, nutritional factors predominate over genetic factors (7). Diminished height (stunting) has been described in infants and children with poor zinc nutriture (8). In fact zinc deficiency was described as the cause of pronounced growth retardation, dwarfism and impaired sexual maturation in young people living in Egypt and Iran who consumed diets of low zinc bioavailability (9).…”

Evaluation du stress oxydant et des defenses antioxydantes chez l’enfant malnutri marocain

“…L'intérêt de la détermina tion du zinc [58,59] dans le bilan biologique de la malnutrition est confirmé, mais ce mar queur biologique est beaucoup moins sensible que les caroténoïdes dans les populations étu diées. La zincémie n'est liée ni au retard statu ro-pondéral, ni à l'inflammation et n'est dimi nuée que chez les enfants les plus gravement atteints ce qui est en accord avec la classifica tion proposée par Golden [56], L'absence de lien statistique a été rapportée chez des en fants présentant un retard de croissance [60], malgré une baisse significative de la zincémie par rapport aux enfants témoins. Cependant, d'autres travaux [57,61], réalisés chez des enfants issus de milieux socio-économiques défavorisés ont montré un lien statistique en tre zincémie et retard statural.…”

Nutrition-related Health Consequences of Urbanization

“…In Thailand, levels of vitamin A in both serum and liver were lowest among the poor, particularly farmers and unskilled labourers, suggesting more similarity by socio-economic group than by urban-rural location. About one-third of migrant children of Mexican-American origin among Colorado farm workers have been shown to have low vitamin-A serum concentrations (and low zinc levels by serum and hair analysis), compard to only 7.5% among the healthy stable population in the same region [80,81]. Thus even in developed countries, vitamin-A deficiency (and also general undernutrition) occurs in at-risk populations, such as poor migrants.…”