Prevalence of Zinc Deficiency by “ Zinc Taste Test” in Pre School Children in Yazd.

Zinc deficiency is a health problem in many communities, especially among children because of growth spurt. Zinc deficiency can causegrowth limitation, delay in sexuel maturity, behavior disorders and abnormalities of immune system,susceptibility to respiratory and gasterointestinal infections and impairment of taste and smell perception.

One of the methods of assessment the zinc defeciency is “ Zinc taste test” using zinc sulfate solution 0.1% , this test performed used to assess the zinc deficiency among preshool childeren in Yazd. The results were evaluated with measurments of weight,height and demographic data. 400 preschool children were selected by multi stage random sampling.Having good taste perception of zinc sulfate 0.1% was used as impaired taste test ( zinc deficiency) and having bad taste perception as normal zinc level.

Regarding to zinc taste test 73.9% of study group had zinc deficiency (77.6%femal, 69.7% male) There were no significant relation between zinc deficiency and measurment of weight and height,but there was higher prevalence of zinc deficiency in children who were below the 5th percentile in height and weight by age.

70% of preschool children in yazd had zinc deficiency assessed by “ zinc taste test”,31% of adolecents in Tehran have had zinc deficiency based on plasma , erythrocyte and hairindex. There is no significant relation between zinc deficiency and antropometric and demographic data, in this study and the study that had been done on adolescents in Tehran.Considering the prevalnce of zinc deficiency with “ Zinc taste test” it seems more accurate studies need to be done like zinc measurment in WBC,RBC and Platelets and zinc taste test at the same time,if correlation coefficients between zinc taste test and other tests were very strong , we can used zinc tase test in the different age for assessment of zinc body.