Estimating the Global Prevalence of Zinc Deficiency: Results Based on Zinc Availability in National Food Supplies and the Prevalence of Stunting

By K. Wessells, K. Brown. PLoS ONE, 2012

1,029 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Background Adequate zinc nutrition is essential for adequate growth, immunocompetence and neurobehavioral development, but limited information on population zinc status hinders the expansion of interventions to control zinc deficiency. The present analyses were conducted to: (1) estimate the country-specific prevalence of inadequate zinc intake; and (2) investigate relationships between country-specific estimated prevalence of dietary zinc inadequacy and dietary patterns and stunting prevalence. Methodology and Principal Findings National food balance sheet data were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Country-specific estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake were calculated based on the estimated absorbable zinc content of the national food supply, International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group estimated physiological requirements for absorbed zinc, and demographic data obtained from United Nations estimates. Stunting data were obtained from a recent systematic analysis based on World Health Organization growth standards. An estimated 17.3% of the world’s population is at risk of inadequate zinc intake. Country-specific estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake was negatively correlated with the total energy and zinc contents of the national food supply and the percent of zinc obtained from animal source foods, and positively correlated with the phytate: zinc molar ratio of the food supply. The estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake was correlated with the prevalence of stunting (low height-for-age) in children under five years of age (r = 0.48, P<0.001). Conclusions and Significance These results, which indicate that inadequate dietary zinc intake may be fairly common, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, allow inter-country comparisons regarding the relative likelihood of zinc deficiency as a public health problem. Data from these analyses should be used to determine the need for direct biochemical and dietary assessments of population zinc status, as part of nationally representative nutritional surveys targeting countries estimated to be at high risk.

Subfields: Hematology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3b6bf56c450024b28b6cb657e41b2d7ab690c3a9

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Hematology

1. Martin R. Broadley
2. E. Joy

In Nutrition and Dietetics

1. Peter J. Gregory
2. Alexander J. Stein
3. Martin R. Broadley
4. E. Joy

In Plant Science

1. Peter J. Gregory
2. Alexander J. Stein
3. Martin R. Broadley
4. E. Joy
5. P. White

Citations in the corpus

• The Role of Zinc in Antiviral Immunity (2019, background): “These data underscore the importance of zinc nutrition, particularly in underdeveloped countries where the risk of infection is heightened because of poor sanitation, public health, and vaccination strategies (5).”
• Approaches to reduce zinc and iron deficits in food systems (2017, result): “The data are consistent with earlier studies 117 (Wuehler et al., 2005; Wessells and Brown, 2012), including a study in Africa which used more 118 regional food composition information (Joy et al.”
• Zinc-enriched fertilisers as a potential public health intervention in Africa (2015, methodology): “The focus of the review is sub-Saharan Africa because of the high incidence of Zn deficiency relative to other regions of the World (Lim et al. 2012; Wessells and Brown 2012).”
• Zinc Homeostasis and isotopic fractionation in plants: a review (2017, neutral): “It is not surprising that around 17% of the world population is at risk of insufficient Zn intake based on food supply data, although actual deficiency rates are likely to be much higher (Wessells and Brown 2012; Kumssa et al. 2015).”
• Strengthening the Immune System and Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress through Diet and Nutrition: Considerations during the COVID-19 Crisis (2020, background): “Zinc deficiency is a serious public health problem worldwide [294] and also appears to be prevalent in Westernized countries [295,296].”