The effect of inflammation on serum zinc concentrations and the prevalence estimates of population-level zinc status among Congolese children aged 6-59 months
Zinc is a negative acute-phase reactant, so its concentration decreases in the presence of inflammation
Abstract
Zinc is a negative acute-phase reactant; hence, its concentration decreases in the presence of inflammation. There is no current consensus on how to control for the effect of inflammation on serum zinc, which has implications for accurate estimates of population-level zinc status.
The authors aimed to measure the association between inflammation and serum zinc concentrations and to compare the means and the prevalence of zinc deficiency using unadjusted and inflammation-adjusted serum zinc concentrations among Congolese children.
This work is an output of the HarvestPlus Programme. The Department for International Development is one of the main donors for HarvestPlus.
Citation
Karakochuk C. D., S. I. Barr, E. Boy, E. Bahizire, P. L. Tugirimana, P. Z. Akilimali, L.A. Houghton, and T. J. Green. 2017. “The effect of inflammation on serum zinc concentrations and the prevalence estimates of population-level zinc status among Congolese children aged 6-59 months.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2017.127.