Zinc Levels Among Preterm Infants

Abstract

Background: To determine the mean serum zinc levels in preterm infants 1-6 months of age and to compare the mean serum zinc levels in breast fed versus Formula Fed preterm infants. Methods: In this descriptive study 222 preterm infants of 1-6 months of age were included. Blood samples were taken from each participant for serum zinc analysis. Results:The mean age of all preterm infants was 2.22 + 1.52 months. There were total 141 (63.5%) male while 81 (36.5%) were female. Mean zinc level among all the preterm infants was observed as 9.71+0.71 g/dL. The mean zinc level in breast-fed infants was observed as 9.45+0.70 g/dL while in Formula fed infants, it was 9.96+0.63 g/dL. The difference of mean zinc level between both infant groups was statistically significant. (p-value = 0.000). Conclusion:In preterm infants breast feeding should be supplemented with Zinc.

Keywords

• Zinc level
• premature infant
• breast feed
• bottle feed,