A new use for ZINc that might be useful to GUMM longs: "JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: ZINC SUPPLEMENTS
11/27/0 10:41 (New York)
in Combating Diarrhea
To: National Desk, Health Reporter
Contact: Kathy Moore or Ming Tai, 410-955-6878 or
paffairs(At)jhsph.edu,
both of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
BALTIMORE, Md., Nov. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Researchers at the Johns
Hopkins School of Public Health have found that zinc supplements help
children suffering from acute and persistent diarrhea significantly
reduce the duration of their symptoms. [or they can just sell the stok, LOL]
The study can be found in the
December 2000 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
``Diarrhea is a very serious public health problem in developing
countries, resulting in millions of deaths each year. Those who
survive are often left with malnutrition. This study was important
because it measures the effect of supplemental zinc given in
conjunction with oral rehydration therapy during the recovery from
acute or persistent diarrhea,'' said study co-coordinator Robert
Black, MD, MPH, professor and chair, International Health, Johns
Hopkins School of Public Health.
The researchers analyzed ten randomized, controlled studies that
had assessed the therapeutic benefit of zinc supplements in children
under age five. In the case of the acute-diarrhea trials, diarrhea was
defined as three or four loose stools in a 24-hour period. For
persistent diarrhea, the original trials' definitions for diarrhea and
recovery were retained. All trials used the standard World Health
Organization recommendations for fluid and dietary case management of
diarrhea. The researchers divided the participants of all the reviewed
studies into subgroups according to sex, age, weight-for-height, and
initial plasma zinc concentration, and then evaluated the overall
effect of zinc on each group.
Results of the study showed that the children who were given a zinc
supplement during the acute-diarrhea trials were 15 percent less
likely than controls to still have diarrhea by a given day; children
in the persistent-diarrhea trials had a 24 percent lower risk of the
diarrhea continuing. The authors said their meta-analysis showed that
zinc apparently offers comparable benefits to all subgroups, a finding
that indicates the nutrient needn't be aimed only at certain narrow
populations but is feasible for wide use in the developing world.
Although future studies are still needed to examine the effect of
zinc supplementation on other measures of severity, such as diarrheal
output, occurrence of dehydration, treatment failure, or death, the
researchers believe attention should now focus on the best means of
providing zinc during diarrhea, as well as on other ways to increase
the zinc intake of children in developing countries.
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This study was supported by the Johns Hopkins Family Health and
Child Survival Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Agency for
International Development, by the World Health Organization's Division
of Child Health and Development, and by the Rockefeller Foundation's
Bellagio Study and Conference Center.
For a complete list of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health press
releases, go to jhsph.edu
KEYWORDS:
HEALTH
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