Interaction of zinc or vitamin a supplementation and specific parasite infections on mexican infants' growth: a randomized clinical trial

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The efficacy of micronutrient supplementation on growth may be modified by specific gastrointestinal parasite infections METHODS: We carried out a double-blind

placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the effect of vitamin A and zinc supplementation on gastro-intestinal pathogen infections and growth among 584 infants in Mexico City. Children aged 5–15

months were assigned to receive either a vitamin A supplement every 2 months (20 000 IU of retinol for infants ⩽; 1 year or 45 000 IU for infants >1 year), a daily supplement of 20 mg of

zinc, a combined vitamin A–zinc supplement or a placebo, and were followed up for 1 year. Weight and length were measured once a month and morbidity histories were recorded twice a week for

12 months. Monthly stool samples were screened for _Giardia duodenalis, Ascaris lumbricoides_ and _Entamoeba spp._ Growth velocity slopes, generated from the linear regression of individual

child length, and height-for-age _z_-scores on time were analyzed as end points in regression models, adjusting for the presence of parasite infections RESULTS: The main effect of vitamin A

supplementation was in height improvement (_P_<0.05), and was only found in the model evaluating infants with any parasite. There was an interaction effect of slower growth (_P_<0.05)

found in infants infected with any parasite and supplemented with vitamin A in slower growth (_P_<0.05). In addition, the interaction of zinc supplementation and _Giardia duodenalis_ or

_A. lumbricoides_ was associated with reduced growth (_P_<0.05). CONCLUSION: Gastro-intestinal parasite infections may modify the effect that zinc or vitamin A supplementation has on

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Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTS CAN PROMOTE DISRUPTIVE PROTOZOAN AND FUNGAL COMMUNITIES IN THE DEVELOPING INFANT GUT Article Open

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access 01 February 2023 _GIARDIA_ HINDERS GROWTH BY DISRUPTING NUTRIENT METABOLISM INDEPENDENT OF INFLAMMATORY ENTEROPATHY Article Open access 18 May 2023 REFERENCES * Allen LH (1993) The

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project was supported by the Instituto de Nutricion Danone, CONACYT (National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico) and by the National Institutes of Health Grant no. K01 DK06142-02.

We thank Cristina Barrgan and Matilde Juárez of the Clinical Microbiological Laboratory, Hospital La Perla, Cda Netzahuaycoytl, México for their assistance in the laboratory. AUTHOR

INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * School of Natural Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexico J L Rosado & M C Caamaño * Centro de Salud para Infancia y Adolescencia,

Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, Mexico Y A Montoya * Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición 'Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, México M de Lourdes Solano * Department of

Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico J I Santos * Nutrition, Disease Control and Injury Unit, School of Population Health,

University of Queensland, Australia K Z Long * Nutrition, CINDETEC, Queretaro, Mexico K Z Long Authors * J L Rosado View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed 

Google Scholar * M C Caamaño View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Y A Montoya View author publications You can also search for this author

inPubMed Google Scholar * M de Lourdes Solano View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * J I Santos View author publications You can also search

for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * K Z Long View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to J L Rosado.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Presented in part: Impact of vitamin A and zinc supplementation on growth among Mexican infants. Rosado JL, Caamaño MC, Montoya YA, Frongillo E, Santos JI, Long KZ.

Experimental Biology Meetings, San Franciso CA 2006. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Rosado, J., Caamaño, M., Montoya, Y. _et al._

Interaction of zinc or vitamin A supplementation and specific parasite infections on Mexican infants' growth: a randomized clinical trial. _Eur J Clin Nutr_ 63, 1176–1184 (2009).

https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.53 Download citation * Received: 12 June 2008 * Revised: 03 March 2009 * Accepted: 15 April 2009 * Published: 22 July 2009 * Issue Date: October 2009 * DOI:

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currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative KEYWORDS * vitamin A * zinc * parasites * growth * infants