Zn Status in Gastroenteritis Children under Five Years Old

Background. Acute gastroenteritis is one of the most prevalent infectious illnesses in childhood and frequentlyassociated with severe zinc deficiency. The objective of present study was to determine zinc status in 32gastroenteritis girls and boys under 5 years old not on Zn supplementation at Reference health laboratory, Tehran-Iran.Materials &Method. Out of 32 gastroenteritis children six excluded and fasting serum samples of n=26 (10=girls& 16=boys) were collected. For analysis a Varian Spectra Flame Atomic Absorption was used.Results. Out of10 girls and 16 boys serum samples, [6(60%), 95%CL(38% - 60%) ] and [(11(68%), 95%CL (53% -65%) ] had zinc level less than reference interval range (70-120 μg/dL). Results of Pearson correlation indicatedsignificant correlation between Zn and age at p<0.05.Conclusion: The author concludes serum Zn determination is an important factor in gastroenteritis children underfive years old. Although in developing countries, the role of zinc during acute diarrhea in children assess furtherfuture studies, conducting educational based programs could be useful to increase the community informationon the impact of zinc during gastroenteritis and emphasize on the WHO recommendation , replacing 20 mg ofelemental zinc per day for children above 6 months , to shorten the duration of acute gastroenteritis .