Zinc May Reduce Infant Mortality

DHAKA, Bangladesh--Weekly zinc supplementation could protect infants from pneumonia and reduce mortality in resource-poor settings, concluded a study conducted by the International Center for Diarrhea Disease Research, and published online in the Aug. 23 issue of The Lancet (DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67109-7). From 1999 to 2000, Bangladeshi researchers randomized 1,621 children aged 12 to 24 months old to participate in a study to determine the effect of weekly zinc supplementation on the prevention of clinical pneumonia and diarrhea in children. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a weekly dose of 70 mg of zinc (n=809) or placebo (n=812).

According to the study, the treatment group had significantly reduced incidence of pneumonia and other upper respiratory tract diseases. Researchers found zinc may also progressively protect against more invasive and severe diseases, leading to an estimated 85 percent reduction in overall mortality in children aged 12 to 24 months old. The study authors also concluded zinc had a small but significant effect in reducing diarrhea, another major cause of illness and death among infants in less-developed countries.