Iron and zinc supplements alleviate malnutrition
In developing countries such as Bangladesh, micronutrient deficiency, especially among children, presents a concerning health issue to both domestic and international health officials. In particular, many children lack sufficient supplies of iron and zinc in their diets.
Iron is known to have significant effects in decreasing anemia and psychomotor activity, while zinc helps to both reduce child morbidity and mortality from diarrhea and pneumonia and to improve growth.
In an effort to efficiently deliver both of these supplements to the greatest number of children, health specialists and nutritionists have frequently distributed these two supplements together; however, these attempts have sometimes resulted in negative outcomes because of detrimental interactions between the two nutrients.
Recently, a group of researchers at the Hopkins Medical Institutions, in collaboration with the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh, have carried out a study in a rural Bangladeshi population to further study the effectiveness of various iron and zinc supplement delivery methods to improve diarrhea and anemia among the children of the population.
"I was interested in the topic because, in international health, there is often a lot of attention given to HIV/AIDS, which is definitely a serious issue, but I think we sometimes forget about the chronic issues of malnutrition which are harder to quantify and thus may get less time in the limelight," Stephanie Chang, a physician at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and a lead investigator in this study, said.
A randomized group of approximately 1,000 children aged six to 18 months were studied over a period of six months. They were each given one of five different intervention regimens containing a placebo, only iron, only zinc, iron and zinc combined or iron and zinc separately.
The data were collected by trained village health workers, or VHWs, who were supervised by four trained individuals with earlier research experience and at least 12 years of school. Survey methods and blood samples were drawn from the participants periodically throughout the study period.
Iron is known to have significant effects in decreasing anemia and psychomotor activity, while zinc helps to both reduce child morbidity and mortality from diarrhea and pneumonia and to improve growth.
In an effort to efficiently deliver both of these supplements to the greatest number of children, health specialists and nutritionists have frequently distributed these two supplements together; however, these attempts have sometimes resulted in negative outcomes because of detrimental interactions between the two nutrients.
Recently, a group of researchers at the Hopkins Medical Institutions, in collaboration with the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh, have carried out a study in a rural Bangladeshi population to further study the effectiveness of various iron and zinc supplement delivery methods to improve diarrhea and anemia among the children of the population.
"I was interested in the topic because, in international health, there is often a lot of attention given to HIV/AIDS, which is definitely a serious issue, but I think we sometimes forget about the chronic issues of malnutrition which are harder to quantify and thus may get less time in the limelight," Stephanie Chang, a physician at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and a lead investigator in this study, said.
A randomized group of approximately 1,000 children aged six to 18 months were studied over a period of six months. They were each given one of five different intervention regimens containing a placebo, only iron, only zinc, iron and zinc combined or iron and zinc separately.
The data were collected by trained village health workers, or VHWs, who were supervised by four trained individuals with earlier research experience and at least 12 years of school. Survey methods and blood samples were drawn from the participants periodically throughout the study period.
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Tents
posted 3/12/10 @ 11:47 PM EST
Great article indeed. Iron and Zinc are two of the most important yet not widely known supplements the body needs. Cheers
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