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[Zincemia, cupremia and infection in malnourished children]
F Khaldi1, A Ben Mansour, A Hedhili
1Service de médecine infantile A, hôpital d'Enfants de Tunis, Bab-Saadoun, Tunis, Jebbari, Tunisie.
Background:
Serum copper and zinc levels are decreased in malnourished and infected children. The role of either malnutrition or infection remains undetermined.
Population And Methods:
Serum zinc and copper concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in 31 malnourished infants aged 1 to 26 months and 28 eutrophic infants aged 3 to 22 months. Fourteen infants of the first group and 10 of the second were infected at the time of study.
Results:
Serum zinc and copper levels were significantly decreased in infants with malnutrition (zinc: 66 +/- 32 micrograms/dl and copper: 81 +/- 51 micrograms/dl versus 108 +/- 26 and 185 +/- 21, respectively, in eutrophic infants) (p < 0.001). These levels were still lower in those malnourished infants who were infected (zinc: 49.5 +/- 18 micrograms/dl and copper: 63.5 +/- 37 micrograms/dl versus 81.56 +/- 35 and 94 +/- 56 in non infected patients) (p < 0.02).
Conclusions:
Infection increases the risk of low serum zinc and copper concentrations seen in malnourished children. This factor must be taken in account when treating malnutrition.