Associations among dietary zinc intakes and biomarkers of zinc status before and after a zinc supplementation program in Guatemalan schoolchildren

Background. The associations among dietary zinc intakes and biomarkers of zinc status are unknown in apparently healthy children at high risk for zinc deficiency. Objective. To assess associations among zinc-related parameters in a sample of Guatemalan school-aged children. Methods. We assessed total dietary intakes and biomarkers of zinc status before and after receiving 6 months of zinc supplementation or placebo in 691 Guatemalan schoolchildren aged 6 to 11 years. Most of the children also received zinc-fortified milk from a government program that started shortly after the trial began. We assessed associations between zinc intakes and serum zinc, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and albumin. Results. At baseline, the prevalence of serum zinc < 65 mu g/dL and dietary zinc intake below Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) (< 4 and < 7 mg/day for children < 9 and >= 9 years, respectively) were 21.6% and 39.4%, respectively. Pearson correlations between serum zinc concentration and dietary zinc intake, serum ALP, and serum albumin were r = 0.07, 0.15, and 0.07, respectively. At the 6-month follow-up, low serum zinc and low total (diet plus fortified milk) zinc intakes were observed in 1.2% and 0.0% of children in the zinc-supplemented group and 4.0% and 34.1% in the placebo group, respectively. Pearson correlations between serum zinc concentration and total zinc intake, serum ALP, and serum albumin were 0.10, 0.06, and -0.11 in the zinc-supplemented group and -0.04, 0.05, and 0.01 in the placebo group, respectively. Conclusions. Zinc intake was inconsistently associated with markers of serum zinc concentration. Zinc fortification or supplementation attenuated the associations.