Exchangeable Zinc Pool Size at Birth in Pakistani Small for Gestational Age and Appropriate for Gestational Age Infants Do Not Differ But Are Lower Than in US Infants.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Small for gestational age (SGA) infants are more susceptible to infectious morbidity and growth faltering compared to their appropriate for gestational age (AGA) counterparts. Zinc supplementation of SGA infants may be beneficial but the underlying susceptibility to zinc deficiency of SGA infants has not been examined.

Methods

In a community-based, observational, longitudinal study in a peri-urban settlement of Karachi, Pakistan, we compared the size of the exchangeable zinc pools (EZPs) in term SGA and AGA infants at birth and at 6 months of age, hypothesizing that the EZP would be lower in the SGA group. To measure EZP size, a zinc stable isotope was intravenously administered within 48 hours of birth (n = 17 and 22) at 6 months (n = 11 and 14) in SGA and AGA in

SUBMITTER: Ariff S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6343844 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature