Abstract
To evaluate the effect of Zn status on cognitive development, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of Zn supplementation in Peruvian infants from 6 to 18 months of age. Healthy infants born at term were randomly assigned at 6 mo to consume a syrup containing 10 mg Fe + 0.5 mg Cu, with or without 10 mg Zn, daily for 12 mo. Various aspects of development were assessed over the one year period; here we focus on measures of visual attention, assessed at 6, 9 and 12 mo. Infants were administered a visual habituation task with simultaneous heart rate (HR) recording. Outcome measures included look duration and changes in HR-defined phases of attention. Infants in the zinc group showed the typical, normative decline in look duration from 6 to 12 mo, but the control group did not; with differences significant at 12 mo (P < 0.01). Similar treatment differences were observed for mean look duration (P< 0.006) and peak (longest) look duration (P< 0.008). Infant HR declined over age, but no differences in HR or HR-defined phases of attention were observed by supplement type. Overall, these preliminary results suggest that zinc supplementation affected behavioral measures of visual attention. Further analyses of cognitive outcomes at older ages may further our understanding of the effect of these alterations on infant cognitive development. Supported by HD045430.
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