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A study, coordinated by the AIIMS paediatrics department, conducted on newborns and infants in three city hospitals in Delhi has found that one in two children suffers from zinc deficiency which can lead to stunted growth and poor immunity.
The study was funded by ICMR and babies born at AIIMS, Kasturba and Swami Dayanand hospitals between 2009 and 2010 were part of it. The findings were published in international journal Neonatology.
The study found that both low birth weight infants and babies born with a normal birth weight suffer from deficiency of the crucial micronutrient, and the level drops with age. 51 per cent of 182 low birth weight babies suffered from zinc deficiency, the blood samples taken within 48 hours of birth revealed. 42.4 per cent of 103 normal weight newborns did not have the standard zinc level. 90.8 per cent of mothers carrying low birth weight children and 91.2 per cent of those who gave birth to normal weight babies were suffering from zinc deficiency, the study also revealed.
When these babies turned two to 10 months old their blood samples were studied again. The tests revealed that 79 per cent of 100 low birth weight and 66.7 per cent of 66 normal infants had inadequate amounts of zinc. 'Zinc levels could have fallen after birth because their mothers' milk, the primary source of zinc for infants, didn't have sufficient amount of the micronutrient,' Dr Ramesh Agarwal, associate professor of paediatrics at AIIMS and corresponding author of the study, noted.
36 per cent of low birth weight and 18.2 per cent of normal infants in the study group were given multi-vitamin supplements for zinc after birth. 'We analysed the serum zinc levels in newborns and infants. We don't think a newborn's birth weight played a significant role because the deficiency levels were similar in both groups. As low birth weight babies grew older, the deficiency levels dropped significantly despite being given supplements,' Dr Agarwal said.
'Most of the zinc is accumulated during the final trimester of pregnancy. Pre-term babies have limited capacity to absorb and retain micronutrients,' a doctor said.