Abstract

JIMENEZ-MORAN, Elsa; BACARDI-GASCON, Montserrat  and  JIMENEZ-CRUZ, Arturo. Efficacy of zinc on lineal growth on Latin American children younger than 5 y: systematic review. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2013, vol.28, n.5, pp.1574-1579. ISSN 1699-5198.  https://dx.doi.org/10.3305/nh.2013.28.5.6771.

Background: In most Latin American countries, the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, growth stunting, morbidity and mortality are highly present in children. Single micronutrient deficiencies such as zinc have been associated to growth retardation. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of randomized control trials that examined the association between zinc supplementation and children s growth in Latin America. Methodology: An electronic literature search was conducted with the keywords "Micronutrients supplementation and growth" in the PubMed databases, of RCT, published from January 2005 to April 2013. There were 279 RCT found assessing the effect of zinc supplementation on linear growth; 34 were conducted in Latin American countries, of which five met the inclusion criteria. A study referred by other authors was also included. Results: Six studies were analyzed. The studies were conducted in Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Ecuador, and Guatemala. None of the studies analyzed observed the positive effect of zinc on lineal growth. Conclusions: The conducted review suggests that zinc supplementation has not a significant effect on linear growth; however, zinc supplementation might be beneficial over lineal growth to zinc-deficient children, if other deficient nutrients are added.

Keywords : Infants; Zinc; Supplementation; Lineal growth; RCT; Systematic review.

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