Plasma zinc levels, anthropometric and socio-demographic characteristics of school children in eastern Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Zinc deficiency is a major public health problem in many developing countries including Nepal. The present study was designed to assess the prevalence of zinc deficiency and to study the association of zinc deficiency with anthropometric and socio-demographic variables, in school children of eastern Nepal. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included total 125 school children of age group 6-12 years from Sunsari and Dhankuta districts of eastern Nepal. Plasma zinc level was estimated by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. RESULTS: The Median interquartile range (IQR) values of zinc in the two districts Sunsari and Dhankuta were 5.9 (4.4, 7.9) µmol/L and 5.8 (4.3, 8.4) µmol/L respectively. A total of 55 children (87.3%) in Sunsari and 52 (83.9%) in Dhankuta had zinc deficiency, no significant difference was observed in the Median (IQR) plasma zinc levels (p = 0.9) and zinc deficiency patterns (p = 0.3) of the two districts. Significant differences were observed in the plasma zinc levels (p = 0.02) and zinc deficiency patterns (p = 0.001), of the school children having age groups 6-8 years than in 9-10 and 11-12 years of age, and zinc deficiency patterns between male and female school children (p = 0.04) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed higher prevalence of zinc deficiency among school children in eastern Nepal. In our study, zinc deficiency was associated with both sex and age. The findings from the present study will help to populate data for policy implementation regarding consumption and supplementation of zinc.

Iodine status after iodized salt supplementation in schoolchildren of eastern Nepal.

This study was designed to assess the urinary iodine concentrations of schoolchildren at baseline and after iodized salt supplementation in eastern region of Nepal. A cross sectional study was conducted from August 2009 to July 2011 among schoolchildren of three eastern districts of Nepal: Sunsari, Dhankuta, and Tehrathum. A sample of 828 school age children from the three districts was chosen for the study after obtaining written consent from their guardians. The schoolchildren treatment group (n=300) was provided with a supplement of iodized salt for six months. Urinary iodine concentration was estimated by ammonium persulfate digestion microplate method at baseline and after supplementation. Urinary iodine controls L1, L2 (Seronorm, Norway) were analyzed to obtain intra-assay CVs (L1 = 7.4%, L2 = 3.3%) and inter assay CVs (L1=23.5%, L2=11.26%). Median interquartile range urinary iodine concentration in the three districts: Sunsari, Dhankuta and Tehrathum at baseline versus intervention were 272.0 (131.5-473.0) microg/l versus 294.0 (265.0-304.0) microg/l (p=0.379), 247.0 (144.5-332.32) versus 361.0 (225.66-456.52) microg/l (p<0.001), and 349.5 (203.75-458.09) microg/l versus 268.76 (165.30-331.67) microg/l (p<0.001), respectively. This study indicated improved iodine status and increased median urinary iodine concentration after iodized salt supplementation. Regular monitoring of population urinary iodine concentration at national and regional levels should be performed to ensure that all individuals have optimal delivery of iodine nutrition.