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Measures of zinc status are weakly associated in healthy school children in Guatemala
Author(s) -
Bui Vinh Quang,
Marcinkevage Jessica A.,
Stein Aryeh D.,
DiGirolamo Ann M.,
Ramakrishnan Usha,
FloresAyala Rafael C.,
RamirezZea Manuel,
Villalpando Salvador,
Martorell Reynaldo
Publication year - 2011
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.25.1_supplement.611.9
Serum zinc concentration can be used to measure zinc status in individuals with either a low or a high supply of dietary zinc, but it has many limits in marginal zinc deficiency. We assessed associations between serum zinc and dietary zinc intakes (Food Frequency Questionnaire), serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and albumin in 691 healthy Guatemalan school children aged 9±1.2 years. Low serum zinc (<65μg/dL) and dietary zinc intake (estimated average requirements <4mg/d and <7mg/d in 4–8 and 9–13 year‐olds, respectively) were observed in 149 (21.6%) and 272 (39.4%) children. Correlations of serum zinc with dietary zinc intake and albumin were r=0.07 (p<0.05) and r=0.07 (p=0.08), respectively. Correlations between serum zinc and ALP were higher in boys than in girls (r=0.25 vs. 0.05, respectively), and in younger than older children (r=0.20 vs. 0.08 in 6–9 vs.≥ 9 year‐olds, respectively). Kappa coefficients among low serum zinc, ALP (< median value of 556 IU/L), and albumin (< median value of 5.91g/dL) were 0.07, 0.08, and 0.12 (all p<0.05). In conclusion, in our sample, serum zinc was weakly associated with other zinc‐related variables. Funding: NIH R01 MH067981. Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT00283660 .