Zinc Deficiency and Impact on Lipid Profiles in Malnourished Children in Senegal

Aims: Zinc is an important element for the body because of the role it plays in the structure but also in the catalytic activity of several metabolic enzymes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the zinc status in malnourished children and its association with lipid profile parameters.

Study Design: This is a cross-sectional and prospective analytical study.

Place and Duration of Study: This is a fifteen-month study, conducted at the Diamniadio Children's Hospital. Children under five years of age, malnourished according to the weight/height ratio were selected after parental.

Methodology: The study population comprised 176 children with a sex ratio of 1, of whom 49% with severe acute malnutrition, 41% moderately malnourished and 10% undernourished. Zinc was determined using Biosystem's® 5 Br PAPS colorimetric method. To compare the groups, we used the Chi-squared test (X2) or the Fisher's exact test. For the comparison of quantitative variables between the targeted groups, we used the ANOVA test. Zinc, total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDLc) and LDL cholesterol (LDLc) were significantly lower in the malnourished. Hypozincemia was found in 66% of children. TC, HDLc and triglycerides (TG) are significantly lower in malnourished patients with hypozincemia with a mean average of 2.99 ± 1.31 mmol/L (p< 0.001), 0.56 ± 0.36 mmol/L (p=0.007) and 1.73 ± 0.85 mmol/L (p=0.004), respectively.

There is a positive correlation between zinc and the various lipid profile parameters. TC (r=0.314; < 0.001), HDLc (r=0.326; p< 0.001), LDLc (r=0.200; p=0.008) and TG (r= 0.229; p=0.002).

Conclusion: The management of hypozincemia is essential within the follow-up of malnourished children. Zinc supplementation can prevent dyslipidemia, which is secondary to malnutrition and serve as a preventive measure against dyslipidemia in malnourished children.