Prevalence of low serum zinc concentrations in Indian children and adolescents: findings from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016-18.
Raghu PullakhandamPraween K AgrawalRajini PeterSantu GhoshG Bhanuprakash ReddyBharati KulkarniTinku ThomasAnura V KurpadHarshpal Singh SachdevAkash PorwalNizamuddin KhanSowmya RameshRajib AcharyaAvina SarnaUmesh KapilHemalatha RajkumarArjan De WagtSila DebRobert JohnstonPublished in: The American journal of clinical nutrition (2021)
The national prevalence of low SZC among preschool (17%) or school-age children (16%) was <20%, which is considered the cutoff indicating a problem of public health significance; but there were variations by state and socioeconomic status. In adolescents, however, the prevalence of low SZC was 31%, which warrants further investigation. The association of low SZC with diarrhea in preschool children necessitates better coverage of Zn administration in the management of diarrhea.