Evaluation of the Relationship Between Height and Zinc, Copper, Iron, Calcium, and Magnesium Levels in Healthy Young Children in Beijing, China

Stunting and wasting in neurological Wilson disease: Role of copper, zinc, and insulin-like growth factor-I

OBJECTIVES

Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are important trace elements for the growth and development of children. In Wilson disease (WD), impaired Cu metabolism may affect growth. This study was conducted to evaluate the height and weight of children with neurological WD and correlate these with serum Cu, Zn, and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I).

METHODS

This prospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching institute. Children with neurologic WD were included. The height, weight, and body-mass index of each child were measured and categorized according to the revised national growth chart. Serum Cu, Zn, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, albumin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and urinary-Cu were measured. Serum IGF-1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationship between height and weight with trace elements and IGF was analyzed using parametric or non-parametric tests.

RESULTS

There were 52 children (5-18 years) with neurologic WD. Thirty-six (69.2%) children had normal height, 12 (23.1%) were tall, and 4 (7.7%) were stunted. Forty-six (88.5%) children had normal weight and six (11.5%) children were underweight. IGF-1 correlated with height, weight, duration of treatment, and serum Zn level. About 15.4% of children had stunting and/or wasting, which was associated with low levels of serum IGF-I, Zn, and calcium.

CONCLUSIONS

Stunting and/or wasting occurs in 15.4% of children with neurologic WD and is associated with reduced serum IGF-I, Zn, and calcium concentration. Adjunctive Zn and calcium treatment may help in achieving normal growth.

Relationship of Serum Zinc Levels with Cardiometabolic Traits in Overweight and Obese Schoolchildren from Mexico City

Zinc (Zn) participates as a cofactor for many enzymes in the cellular metabolism, and its serum levels have been associated with different metabolic diseases, especially obesity (OB). Nevertheless, its associations are not clear in the children population. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between serum Zn levels (SZn) with overweight/obesity status (OW/OB), as well as its cardiometabolic traits in a population of children in Mexico City. Anthropometrical data (body mass index z score (BMIz)), demographic variables (age and sex), and cardiometabolic traits (total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), triglycerides (TG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and insulin) were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. SZn were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The population included 210 children from Mexico City (girls (n = 105) and boys (n = 105)) between ages 6 and 10 years. Normal-weight (NW) schoolchildren had higher SZn concentrations (66 µg/dL; IQR: 48 to 91) compared to OW or OB schoolchildren (61 µg/dL; IQR: 45 to 76). The data showed a significant negative association between SZn and BMIz without sex exclusion (r =  - 0.181 and p = 0.009). The boy's population did not show an association between the SZn and BMIz compared to the girl's population which showed a significant negative association (r =  - 0.277 and p = 0.004). In addition, other associations were found between SZn and TC (boys (r = 0.214 and p = 0.025), LDLc (boys (r = 0.213 and p = 0.029), and TG (girls (r =  - 0.260 and p = 0.007)). Moreover, 38.6% of the total children in our population study had Zn deficiency (ZnD). NW schoolchildren had higher SZn concentrations compared to OW or OB schoolchildren. A diet low in Zn can be a factor to evaluate in the development of childhood OB in Mexico. However, further studies need to be performed on the children Mexican population to replicate and confirm our findings.

Evaluation of Iron and Zinc Contents of Some Fish Species

In this study, Fe and Zn contents in the muscle of different fish species (Engraulis encrasicolus, Trachurus trachurus, Mullus barbatus, Mugil cephalus, Pomatomus saltatrix, Dicentrarchus labrax, Scomber scombrus, Sparus aurata) were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The highest Fe and Zn contents among studied fish species were found in Engraulis encrasicolus (7.13 ± 0.19 mg/kg) and Sparus aurata (11.00 ± 0.28 mg/kg). The lowest Fe and Zn contents were determined in Dicentrarchus labrax (3.12 ± 0.09 mg/kg) and Pomatomus saltatrix (5.50 ± 0.05 mg/kg). Moreover, the results were evaluated considering the estimated daily intakes (EDI) of these elements for adults. The estimated daily intakes were varied from 0.0101 to 0.0231 mg/kg bw/day for Fe and 0.0178 to 0.0357 mg/kg bw/day for Zn in fish species. In addition, the hazard quotient (HQ) and the hazard index (HI) values were calculated for risk assessment, and it was determined that these values were below 1 for fish species.

The Reference Intervals of Whole Blood Copper, Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium, and Iron in Infants Under 1 Year Old

Trace elements are essential nutrients for the optimal growth, development, and health of infants, and the reference intervals (RIs) from these trace elements in the blood are very important for an accurate assessment of the status of the elements. In this study, blood samples from a total of 13,446 infants (7206 boys and 6240 girls) were used, and the copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe) in their blood were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. After clearing the data and removing any outliers, the gender- and age-specific RIs obtained from the Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, and Fe in the infants' blood were established according to the principles of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) C28-A3. In the multivariable analysis, after making the relevant adjustments for the confounding factors, the age of the infants showed a significant positive correlation with the concentrations of Zn, Ca, Mg, and Fe found in the blood (p<0.01). Furthermore, there were obvious differences in the Cu, Zn, and Ca levels in the blood according to the gender of the infants (p<0.01). As infants are in the critical period of their growth and development, the gender- and age-specific RIs may provide helpful guidance for the nutritional status of the Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, and Fe elements in the infants' blood.

Food quality score and anthropometric status among 6-year-old children: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Weight status and growth during childhood are indicative of healthy development throughout the lifespan. It is well understood that dietary patterns and overall quality of diet can prevent disease, improve health status and optimise growth and development. The current study investigates the relationship between overall diet quality and measures of childhood development including body mass index and height-for-age in 6-year-old children.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted across 788 6-year-old children from Tehran, Iran, in 2018. Food quality score (FQS) was used to assess overall diet quality, in addition to a modified food-based diet quality score specific to children (modified FQS) developed by our group.

RESULTS

Participants in the highest tertile using the modified FQS had the highest height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (-0.509 ± 0.028 vs -0.605 ± 0.028; P = .048). In contrast, participants in the highest tertile assessed using the original FQS had a higher BMI for age z-score (BAZ) compared to participants in the first tertile (0.391 ± 0.072 vs 0.266 ± 0.072; P = .023). Children within the highest tertile, according to the original FQS, compared to those within the lowest tertile were 49% less likely to be categorised as severely underweight (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.47-0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings presented in this study demonstrate that FQS was significantly associated with participants characterised as severely underweight; however, FQS was not associated with other anthropometric parameters. Therefore, future well-designed cohort studies are required to address limitations of the current study.

Inter-relationships between percentage body fat, relative subischial leg length and body mass index among adolescents and adults from the Limbu community of Darjeeling, West Bengal

Leg length in humans is considered to be an indicator of the long-term impact of quality of childhood living conditions and nutritional status. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of association of percentage body fat (PBF) with relative subischial leg length (RSLL), adjusting for age, sex and body mass index (BMI), among adolescents and adults in a population of poor socioeconomic background in India. Data were taken from a cross-sectional study conducted in 2010-2014 among the Limbu community of Darjeeling, West Bengal - an indigenous community with poor socioeconomic background, low literacy rate, low income and inadequate living conditions. The study villages were located in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions of Darjeeling. The present study sample comprised 97 adolescents aged 16-19 years (47 boys, 50 girls) and 260 adults aged 20-39 years (135 men, 125 women). Anthropometric measurements of stature/height (cm), weight (kg), sitting height (cm) and skinfold thicknesses (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac) (mm) were recorded. Derived variables were BMI (kg/m2), subischial leg length (SLL) (cm), RSLL (%), sum of four skinfolds (mm) and PBF (%). Significant sex differences at p<0.05 were observed for all anthropometric characteristics, except for body weight among adolescents and RSLL, subscapular and sum of four skinfolds in adults. The linear regression models adjusting for age and sex showed that RSLL had a negative relationship with PBF (p<0.05) among adolescents and adults. Higher body fat, independent of BMI, was correlated with lower RSLL among both adolescents and adults from the Limbu community, indicating a possible association with poor quality living conditions in childhood. However, this may also have been due to the allometry of total body fat with body proportions - a relatively larger trunk results in more body fat.

Degradation Resistance and In Vitro Cytocompatibility of Iron-Containing Coatings Developed on WE43 Magnesium Alloy by Micro-Arc Oxidation

Iron (Fe) is an important trace element for life and plays vital functions in maintaining human health. In order to simultaneously endow magnesium alloy with good degradation resistance, improved cytocompatibility, and the proper Fe amount for the body accompanied with degradation of Mg alloy, Fe-containing ceramic coatings were fabricated on WE43 Mg alloy by micro-arc oxidation (MAO) in a nearly neutral pH solution with added 0, 6, 12, and 18 g/L ferric sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (NaFeY). The results show that compared with the bare Mg alloy, the MAO samples with developed Fe-containing ceramic coatings significantly improve the degradation resistance and in vitro cytocompatibility. Fe in anodic coatings is mainly present as Fe2O3. The increased NaFeY concentration favorably contributes to the enhancement of Fe content but is harmful to the degradation resistance of MAO coatings. Our study reveals that the developed Fe-containing MAO coating on Mg alloy exhibits potential in clinical applications.

Assessment of exposure to toxic metals and measures to address deficiency of essential trace elements in young children in rural Hubei, China

Children are exposed to toxic metals via diet and environment, which results in adverse health effects. Several trace elements are important for the nutritional status of children; however, little information is available for rural regions in Asia. Our goal was to assess the body burden of lead, cadmium, and aluminum (Al) as toxic metals and calcium (Ca), zinc, copper, selenium (Se), strontium, and boron as trace elements in children. Multiple environmental samples, including soil, dust, fine particulates, drinking water, and food, were collected for each family. A survey was conducted by trained personnel to record detailed information about children attending a rural school. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected. The levels of toxic and essential trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We found that the daily intake of toxic metals was below the recommended maximum, suggesting low health risks. More attention should be given to the ingestion of Al by the hand-to-mouth pathway. Ca deficiency was discovered to be a serious health problem for rural children, with Ca inadequacies reaching 96%. The excessive intake of Se-rich products from industry suggests an increased risk of toxicity. This study highlights the health risks to children who live in rural regions and the importance of dietary Ca supplementation in school meals.