title: Dietary Zinc Intake and Plasma Zinc Concentrations in Children with Short Stature and Failure to Thrive.
abstract: The burden of zinc deficiency on children includes an increased incidence of diarrhea, failure to thrive (FTT) and short stature. The aim of this study was to assess whether children with FTT and/or short stature have lower dietary zinc intake and plasma zinc concentrations compared to controls.
  
  
  
  A case-control study conducted at the American University of Beirut Medical Center included 161 subjects from 1 to 10 years of age.
  
  
  
  Cases had a statistically significant lower energy intake (960.9 vs. 1,135.2 kcal for controls, p = 0.010), lower level of fat (30.3 vs. 36.5 g/day, p = 0.0043) and iron intake (7.4 vs. 9.1 mg/day, p = 0.034). There was no difference in zinc, copper, carbohydrate and protein intake between the 2 groups. The plasma zinc concentration did not differ between the cases and controls (97.4 vs. 98.2 μg/dl, p = 0.882). More cases had mild-to-moderate zinc deficiency when compared to controls with 10.3 vs. 3.6%, p = 0.095.
  
  
  
  Our study did not show statistically significant difference in dietary zinc intake and plasma zinc concentrations between children with FTT and/or short stature compared to healthy controls. A prospective study is planned to assess the effect of zinc supplementation on growth parameters in FTT children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yazbeck
authors.forename: Rima
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanna-Wakim
authors.forename: Rym
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: El Rafei
authors.forename: Abir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barhoumi
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farra
authors.forename: Rose T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Majdalani
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002149:Energy Intake; D005183:Failure to Thrive / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc