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Abstract
Zinc is an important mineral for biological and physiological processes. Zinc deficiency (ZD) is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide and a crucial determinant of pregnancy outcomes and childhood development. Zinc levels and the zinc supplementation rate among lactating women have not been assessed neither in Ecuador nor in the Andean region. We conducted a pilot study including 64 mothers of infants between eight days to seven months old from a primary care center located in Conocoto, a peri-urban community of Quito, Ecuador. The mothers were interviewed and a fasting blood sample was taken to determine plasma zinc levels. The prevalence of ZD was calculated and compared with the prevalence of ZD among Ecuadorian non-pregnant non-lactating women, and the sample was analysed considering zinc supplementation during pregnancy. The prevalence of ZD among the participants was 81.3% (95% CI: 71.7–90.9), higher than the reported among non-pregnant non-lactating women (G2 = 18.2; p < 0.05). Zinc supplementation rate was 31.2%. No significant differences were found comparing the groups considering zinc supplementation. The insights obtained from this study encourage extending studies to document zinc levels and its interactions among breastfeeding women in areas with a high prevalence of ZD in order to determine the need of zinc supplementation.
Highlights
Zinc is an ubiquitous mineral within the body that has catalytic, structural, and regulatory biological functions [1]
The objective of the present study was to assess plasma zinc (PZn) levels and zinc supplementation rate during pregnancy, among lactating women attending to a public care center from a peri-urban
We found Zinc deficiency (ZD) in 52 women with a prevalence of ZD of 81.2%, which is statically different to the reported among women of reproductive age by ENSANUT-ECU of 56.1% (G2 = 18.23; p < 0.05) [19]
Summary
Zinc is an ubiquitous mineral within the body that has catalytic, structural, and regulatory biological functions [1]. This mineral is known to be an essential micronutrient for development and normal cell activity [2]. Zinc deficiency (ZD) is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide, affecting around 2 billion people, especially among developing countries. ZD has important consequences especially during pregnancy, lactation, and childhood development [3,4]. In spite of the physiological adjustment, which increases the zinc absorption during pregnancy and lactation, women and children are still affected by zinc deficiency due to increased nutrient requirements [5,6]. If ZD in Nutrients 2018, 10, 869; doi:10.3390/nu10070869 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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