Zinc level in children with short stature

Abstract

Introduction. The research carried out confirms the great importance of zinc in the processes of children’sgrowth and development. Aim. To investigate the zinc content in blood serum of children with short stature. Methods. We examined 42 children under supervision in the children’s endocrinology department of the Chernivtsi Oblast Children’s Hospital during 2011-2018, aged 3 to 15 years. The control group consisted of 44 children aged 3-15 years. Determined the level of growth hormone (GR), IGF-1 and zinc in the blood plasma. Results. It has been detected that the level of zinc in blood plasma is reducedin 90, 4% of children with short stature. On average, zinc level in the blood plasma of children with short stature was 0.71 ± 0.03 μg/ml, which is significantly lower (p˂0.001) than the mean zinc level in children in the control group - 1.11 ± 0.02 μg/ml. In all age groups, there was a significant decrease in zinc values in plasma compared to those in the corresponding age group of the control group. In 28 (cases the level of zinc was quite low, in 10 cases it was very low and in the rest of the cases it had boundary indices. Indices of zinc in blood plasma in children with somatotropic insufficiency were the lowest and averaged 0.66 ± 0.03 μg/l, p˂0.05. Age and gender dependency of zinc level in blood plasma was not found. Conclusions. Zinc deficiency in plasma is observed in most children with short stature. Necessary for zinc deficiency correction in patients with short stature by diet expansion incorporating food enriched with the microelement or the designation of appropriate zinc preparations. Diet expansion may be the subject of further research.

Keywords

• children
• short stature
• zinc deficiency