Serum zinc level in children with acute gastroenteritis admitted to Kashan Shahid Beheshti hospital

Zinc is an essential micronutrient for growth and proper immune function. Zinc deficiency may contribute to the incidence, prevalence and severity of diarrhea and can also cause failure to thrive in children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the serum zinc level in children with diarrhea.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 105 children with acute watery diarrhea referred to Kashan Shahid Beheshti hospital during 2008-9. To test the serum zink level, a sample of venous blood (5-cc) was taken. In addition, the age, sex, the duration of diarrhea, the length of hospitalization and FTT were evaluated. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, T-test and ANOVA.

Among the 105 children, 48.6% were male and half of them aged more than 12 months. The results showed that the mean serum zinc level in hospitalized children and diarrhea duration more than 3 days was lower than the other children (P=0.023 and P=0.004, respectively). Moreover, the mean serum zinc level in children with FTT was lower than the children without FTT (P<0.001).

Duration of diarrhea, the length of hospitalization and FTT in children with low serum zinc levels was more than the other children.