Zinc May Help Lung Health In Children

by | Nov 5, 2012 | 2012, Infant and Children's Health, Lung Health, Zinc

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS.  Using 10mg per day of zinc gluconate resulted in 40% more children with no respiratory infections in a six month trial. 

Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs), of which pneumonia and broncholitis are the most frequent types, are the largest single cause of death globally in children less than five years of age (1,2). A 2002 study estimated that 1.9 million children died from acute lower respiratory infections in 2000, with 70% of them from South Asia and Africa (3).

Zinc, which is known to help maintain both immune system and overall cell health (4), may also help improve lung health in children. Zinc deficiency is a large public health problem, especially among children in developing countries (5). This is attributable to both a lack of zinc in the local diet and a depletion of zinc due to repeated infections (6).

A 2010 review suggested zinc to help maintain lung health in regards to pneumonia. (7). Building on that research, a new study (8) provided more evidence of zinc’s role in lung health in children. In the study, 96 children between 6 months and 5 years of age received either 10 milligrams of zinc gluconate (48 children) or a placebo (48 children) for 60 days. The children were examined every 2 weeks for 6 months, and each mother was given charts to record the symptoms of respiratory infection between the visits.

By the end of 2 months, zinc blood levels were 70% higher in the zinc group compared to the placebo group (74.6 vs. 43.7 micrograms/deciliter, p = 0.001). After 6 months:

  • 40% more children in the zinc group suffered no infections (10  vs. 6 children, p = 0.033)
  • 28% more children in the zinc group suffered one infection (28 vs. 20 children, p = 0.033)
  • 55% fewer children in the zinc group suffered two or more infections (10 vs. 22 children, p = 0.033)
  • Hospital stays per infection were 87% shorter in the zinc group (0.2 vs. 1.5 days, p = 0.001)
  • Antibiotic use per infection was 46% shorter in the zinc group (4.4 vs. 8.2 days, p =0.001)

Regarding severe respiratory tract infections, there were 28 in the placebo group compared to only 10 in the zinc group (p = 0.001). Finally, there were 39% fewer episodes of diarrhea in the zinc group (1.8 vs. 1.1, p = 0.001) and each episode was 48% shorter in the zinc group compared to the placebo group (4.4 vs. 8.5 days, p = 0.001).

For the researchers, “Zinc supplement may result in significant reduction in respiratory morbidity among children with acute lower respiratory infections in zinc poor population.” Although zinc deficiency is common in third world countries, a balanced diet should provide adequate zinc. Vegetarians need to be careful to eat a balanced diet because phytates in their diet are higher than normal and interfere with zinc absorption.

Source: Shah, Ubaid H., et al. “The efficacy of zinc supplementation in young children with acute lower respiratory infections: A randomized double-blind controlled trial.” Clinical nutrition 32.2 (2013): 193-199.

© 2012 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism

Posted November 6, 2012.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1. Black RE, Morris SS, Bryce J. Where and why are 10 million children dying every year? Lancet 2003;361:2226e34.
  2. Nair H, Nokes DJ, Gessner BD, Dherani M, Madhi SA, Singleton RJ, et al. Global burden of acute lower respiratory infections due to respiratory syncytial virus in young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet 2010;375: 1545e55.
  3. Williams BG, Gouws E, Boschi-Pinto C, Bryce J, Dye C. Estimates of worldwide distribution of child deaths from acute respiratory infections. Lancet Infect Dis 2002;2:25e32.
  4. “Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Zinc” from the National Institutes of Health website.
  5. Prasad AS. Zinc deficiency in humans: a neglected problem. J Am Coll Nutr 1998;17:542e3
  6. Aggarwal R, Sentz J, Miller MA. Role of zinc administration in prevention of childhood diarrhea and respiratory illnesses: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics 2007;119:1120e30
  7. Lassi ZS, Haider BA, Bhutta ZA. Zinc supplementation for the prevention of pneumonia in children aged 2 months to 59 months. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010;12:CD005978
  8. Shah UH. The efficacy of zinc supplementation in young children with acute lower respiratory infections: A randomized double-blind controlled trial. Clin Nutr 2012 Aug 31. pii: S0261-5614(12)00185-9. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2012.08.018. [Epub ahead of print]