Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting Serum Zinc Levels and its Impact on Health of Children

Micronutrient element zinc has an important role in maintaining integrity of epithelial barrier and functioning of T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes. It is required for adequate growth and promotion of good health in a child. Ours was a cross-sectional, hospital-based study, done at a tertiary care hospital in northern India, from October 2022 to September 2023. We included a hundred children aged 2–60 months with respiratory distress in the study. Respiratory distress was graded as RD I (mild), RD II (moderate), and RD III (severe). The blood samples were taken for serum zinc levels which were estimated using photometry. Mean serum zinc levels were lower in children who were given non-exclusive breast feed (70.76 ± 22.69 μg/dL), formula feed (62.33 ± 19.34 μg/dL), had caloric gap (67.43 ± 17.57 μg/dL) and two illnesses in the recent past (56.5 ± 17.04 μg/dL). Mean serum zinc levels were also lower in children with severe respiratory distress (RD3). Low mean serum zinc levels are found in those children who are given mixed feeds during the initial six months of life, especially formula feeds, and in children with a caloric gap in their diet. Higher incidence of anemia, developmental delay, frequency of illness, morbidity, and mortality associated with respiratory illness was found in children with low mean serum zinc levels.