Micronutrient Levels in Children with Cerebral Palsy in Abia State, Nigeria

Micronutrients are essential for growth and development and their deficiencies are reported in children with cerebral palsy who have attributes that predispose them to such nutrient deficiencies. There are few studies on micronutrients status of CP children in our sub-region.

To investigate micronutrient status of children with cerebral palsy and compare values with those of controls.

One hundred and sixty- nine children with CP and 169 controls were enrolled consecutively. Clinical features were documented using Gross Motor Functional Classification System to assess severity. Venous blood was collected for micronutrient levels measurement. Student's t test, Chi-square test and bivariate analysis were used as appropriate. Multiple linear regression was used to identify clinical antecedents of any deranged micronutrient.

The serum zinc, calcium and vitamin D levels were lower in the subjects compared with the controls (p <0.001).There was significant association between the serum levels of the micronutrients and age in the subjects (<0.05). Serum zinc level was associated with socioeconomic class in both subjects and controls (p < 0.001, 0.001 respectively). Serum zinc and calcium were significantly low in 69.7% and 15.2% of subjects with feeding problems respectively. Age, gender, socioeconomic class and feeding problems had significant independent effect on serum zinc levels of the subjects.

Serum levels of zinc, calcium and vitamin D are significantly low in children with CP. Age, socioeconomic class and feeding problems independently influenced the serum zinc level in the subjects. Periodic assessment of children with CP to identify those who might need specific intervention is advocated.