Zinc deficiency among a healthy population in Baghdad, Iraq

To determine the prevalence of zinc deficiency and the current zinc status among a sample selected from the healthy population in Baghdad, Iraq.

We carried out a community-based study in Baghdad City, Iraq from November through June 2002. We selected a sample of 2090 healthy subjects (aged 1 month to 85 years). We used a pre-tested questionnaire, designed to obtain information on gender, birth dates, height, weight, residence, habitual food consumption patterns, and social status. We performed laboratory assessment of serum zinc level, dietary assessment of food frequency and usual zinc intake. We considered subjects with serum zinc concentration of <7.7 umol/l zinc deficient and >/-7.7 to 12.3 umol/l mild to moderately zinc deficient.

The prevalence of zinc deficiency among the studied sample was 2.7%. We found mild to moderate zinc deficiency among 55.7% of the study sample. Dietary zinc intake assessment showed that 74.8% of the studied sample consumed less than the recommended intake, and in 62.3%, the intakes were deficient and grossly deficient. Mean daily zinc ranged from 5.2 mg in children to 8.5 mg in adults.

We observed a high prevalence of mild to moderate zinc deficiency, with inadequate dietary zinc intake among a considerable proportion of the studied sample. Zinc supplementation may be an effective public health intervention means to improve the zinc status of the population.