Association of Cord Blood Zinc Level and Birth Weight among Bangladeshi Neonates

Background: Low cord blood zinc has been reported to be associated with low birth weight and a risk factor for neonatal morbidity and mortality. Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the possible associations between cord blood zinc with neonatal birth weight. Methodology: This case-control study was conducted in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2022 to December 2023 for a period of two years. Women in their postnatal period were included in this study among which 30 women having a baby weighing less than 2.5 kg were considered as the cases and 30 women having babies weighing more than or equal to 2.5 kg were enrolled as the controls.Blood samples were collected from the mothers and cord of the babies immediately after delivery for serum zinc analysis using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Babies' weights were measured within thirty minutes post-delivery. Results: In the present study, none of the socio-demographic characteristics in both case and control groups were statistically significant (p > 0.05). Mean BMI was 23.88±1.36 kg/m2 in cases and 24.39±1.39 kg/m2 in controls, with 16.7% of cases overweight (p>0.05). Cases had lower maternal serum zinc (58.33±27.63 mcg/dL) than controls (82.96±16.94 mcg/dL), significantly affecting neonatal birth weight (p=0.001, r=+0.406). Low zinc levels (<68 mcg/dL) increased the risk of birth weight less than 2.500 Kg by nearly six times (OR 5.67, 95% CI 1.84-17.49; p=0.002).).Mean neonatal cord zinc level in the study group (51.42 ± 23.67 µg/dl) was comparatively lower than in control group (85.42± 16.74 µg/dl), which was statistically significant (p-value <0.05). The risk of birth weight of less than 2.500 Kg was almost five times (OR 4.98, 95% CI 2.01-16.51; p=0.002) more with low maternal serum zinc levels (< 68 mcg/dL). Conclusion: The cord blood zinc concentration of normal-weight neonates was higher than low birth weight noenates. Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, January 2026;12(1):37-41