title: The prevalence of wheezing and its association with serum zinc concentration in children and adolescents in Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the influence of zinc serum status on the prevalence of wheezing in a sample of children and adolescents in Northeastern Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study which included 592 students of 6-12 years old, from the public elementary schools of São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. Report of wheezing in the past 12 months was collected using a questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Program (ISAAC) phase III, adapted to Portuguese. The determination of serum Zn levels was performed using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. Data on anthropometric status, level of physical activity, pubertal development and socioeconomic information, for each participant were obtained. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations of interest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the students, 8.6% (95% CI 6.30-10.9) reported having wheezing. The mean (SD) serum zinc level was 114 (22.9 μg/dL). The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis showed, after adjustments, positive and significant association between low serum zinc levels and wheezing. Students categorized as being below the median for serum Zn concentration presented an almost 1.9-fold increase in the wheezing prevalence ratio (OR=1.9; 95% CI 1.03-3.53).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main findings of this study suggest that the level of zinc may influence the risk of wheezing in late childhood on the study population.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências da Nutrição, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Araújo Pinho, 32, Canela, CEP: 40110-150 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: rcrsilva@ufba.br.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Cássia Ribeiro-Silva
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Matemática, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Adhemar de Barros, s/n, Ondina, CEP: 40170-110 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosemeire Leovigildo
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Fiaccone
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Basílio da Gama, s/n, Campus Universitário Canela, CEP: 40110-040 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maurício Lima
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Barreto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências da Nutrição, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Araújo Pinho, 32, Canela, CEP: 40110-150 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luce Alves
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências da Nutrição, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Araújo Pinho, 32, Canela, CEP: 40110-150 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Fernandes Pereira
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências da Biointeração, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Reitor Miguel Calmon, s/n, CEP: 40110-100 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Neuza Maria
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Alcantara-Neves
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000502:physiology*; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc
keywords: Adolescents; Children; Nutrition; Serum zinc levels; Wheezing