supreme health
new discoveries !
other cancer rates
supplements
suppl. sources
effectiveness
elements list
health news
health tips
for mothers
discovery story
references
corn poisoning
lettuce poisoning
mary-jo's story
sarah's story
stranger's story
Q & A
science bloopers
indictment
invitation
other health sites
|
 |
Zinc supplements have been found to help children suffering from both acute and persistent diarrhea by reducing the duration of problem according to researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Published in the December 2000 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this 'meta' study analysed and summarized ten different controlled studies which had assessed the therapeutic benefit of zinc supplements in children aged five and under. |
|
"Diarrhea is a very serious public health problem in developing countries, resulting in millions of deaths each year. Those who survive are often left with malnutrition," study co-coordinator Robert Black, MD said. "This study was important because it measures the effect of supplemental zinc given in conjunction thin oral rehydrations therapy during the recovery from acute or persistent diarrhea."
Researchers divided the study participants of all the review studies into subgroups according to sex, age, weight-for-height, and initial plasma zinc concentration, analyzing the overall effect of zinc on each group. According to researchers the study found that children who were given a zinc supplement during the acute diarrhea trials were 15 percent less likely than the control group to still have diarrhea by a given day. While, those children who suffered persistent bouts of diarrhea were 24 percent lower risk of diarrhea continuing than the control group after a single dose of a zinc supplement.
Researchers cautioned more studies are needed that factor in the effect of zinc supplementation on other measures of severity, such as diarrhea output, occurrence of dehydration, treatment failure, or death. Study authors also said they believe attention should now focus on finding out the best means to provide zinc supplements to children when suffering diarrhea, as well as increasing zinc consumption in developing countries.
| BACK | INDEX | NEXT | |
|
|
