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Maternal prenatal zinc supplementation influences offspring growth during infancy in Peru
Author(s) -
Iannotti Lora Lynn,
Zavaleta Nelly,
Caulfield Laura
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a98-b
Subject(s) - medicine , offspring , anthropometry , birth weight , pediatrics , pregnancy , gestation , prenatal care , obstetrics , demography , population , environmental health , biology , genetics , sociology
A randomized controlled trial of prenatal zinc supplementation was conducted from 1996–1997 in a peri‐urban slum in Lima, Peru. Women were enrolled between 10–24 weeks gestation and randomly assigned to receive: a) Zn + Fe + folic acid, or b) Fe + folic acid; 579 infants were enrolled and followed from birth with 256 remaining in the study by 12 months of age. Anthropometric measures were collected monthly, and morbidity and dietary surveillance took place weekly through home visits. No differences by treatment group or by groups followed through 12 months were found in socio‐demographic characteristics. Bivariate analyses showed infants from the zinc group had significantly higher mean anthropometric measures beginning in month 4 and especially apparent in months 9–12. Robust regression modeling with longitudinal analysis for zinc effect (P<0.01) on weight (R 2 =0.47), calf circumference (R 2 =0.24), and MUAC (R 2 =0.15) incorporated the following variables: age; gender; birth weight; child prevalence of diarrhea; and breast milk in the infant diet. When stratified by gender, zinc treatment lost significance for boys and remained for girls. No interaction effects were found for age, birth weight, or gender. Further investigation of the effect of maternal prenatal zinc nutrition on offspring growth and body composition is necessary.