Biomaterial Database

Zinc supplementation in infants with a nutritional pattern of failure to thrive: a double-blind, controlled study. 1989

P A Walravens, and K M Hambidge, and D M Koepfer

Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262.

The objective of this study was to determine whether zinc deficiency is one of the factors involved in nutritional failure to thrive in infants and toddlers. Participants were selected on the basis of anthropometric criteria, particularly a decline in weight velocity preceding changes in length gains. The investigation was designed as a double-blind, randomized, pair-matched, controlled study of dietary zinc supplementation of 6 months' duration. Anthropometric data were collected at 0, 1, 3, and 6 months. Twenty-five pairs of infants completed the project. When compared with placebo-treated control children, the zinc-supplemented group (combined sexes) and the supplemented boys showed significant improvements in standard deviation scores for weight for all three intervals, the largest differences occurring for the 0- to 3-month interval (P less than or equal to .0001). The zinc-supplemented girls demonstrated a trend toward improvements in changes in standard deviation scores for weight (P = .056). There were no differences in length gains for either boys or girls. This improvement in weight gains after zinc supplementation demonstrates that mild zinc deficiency can be one of the etiologic factors in nutritional failure to thrive during infancy.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007228	Infant Nutrition Disorders	Disorders caused by nutritional imbalance, either overnutrition or undernutrition, occurring in infants ages 1 month to 24 months.	Infant Malnutrition,Malnutrition, Infant,Nutrition Disorders, Infant,Infant Overnutrition,Infantile Malnutrition,Malnutrition in Infant,Infant Nutrition Disorder,Malnutrition in Infants,Malnutrition, Infantile,Nutrition Disorder, Infant,Overnutrition, Infant
D011897	Random Allocation	A process involving chance used in therapeutic trials or other research endeavor for allocating experimental subjects, human or animal, between treatment and control groups, or among treatment groups. It may also apply to experiments on inanimate objects.	Randomization,Allocation, Random
D001827	Body Height	The distance from the sole to the crown of the head with body standing on a flat surface and fully extended.	Body Heights,Height, Body,Heights, Body
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004311	Double-Blind Method	A method of studying a drug or procedure in which both the subjects and investigators are kept unaware of who is actually getting which specific treatment.	Double-Masked Study,Double-Blind Study,Double-Masked Method,Double Blind Method,Double Blind Study,Double Masked Method,Double Masked Study,Double-Blind Methods,Double-Blind Studies,Double-Masked Methods,Double-Masked Studies,Method, Double-Blind,Method, Double-Masked,Methods, Double-Blind,Methods, Double-Masked,Studies, Double-Blind,Studies, Double-Masked,Study, Double-Blind,Study, Double-Masked
D005183	Failure to Thrive	A condition of substandard growth or diminished capacity to maintain normal function.	Thrive, Failure to
D006128	Growth	Gradual increase in the number, the size, and the complexity of cells of an individual. Growth generally results in increase in ORGAN WEIGHT; BODY WEIGHT; and BODY HEIGHT.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man