Zinc deficiency mortality

Burns and Skin Disorders. The causes of zinc deficiency in patients with bums include losses in exudates. Starvation of patients with bums is a well-recognized cause of morbidity and mortality. The contribution of conditioned zinc deficiency to the morbidity of burned patients is not defined. Limited studies indicate that epithelialization of bums can be improved by treatment with zinc. Such a finding is consistent with the beneficial eflFect of zinc on the treatment of leg ulcers and the well-defined requirement of zinc for collagen synthesis (39,40,41,42),... 

Black RE. Zinc deficiency, infectious disease and mortality in the developing world. J Nutr 2003 133 1485S-9S. 

Globally, almost two billion people (one-third of the human race) are affected by vitamin A, iron, iodine, and/or zinc deficiencies that put them at an increased risk of poor growth, morbidity, intellectual impairment, and/or mortality. Since the mid-1980s micronutrient supplementation has been a major public-health strategy in developing countries to prevent and control deficiencies in vitamin A, iron, and, to a lesser extent, iodine. More recently, zinc supplementation has come to be considered as an efficacious adjunctive therapy for diarrhea in populations with an elevated risk of zinc deficiency. This article will define micronutrient supplementation, examine the role of supplementation as a strategy for the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies, and examine evidence for vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc supplementation interventions with respect to efficacy, recommended dose, frequency of administration, safety, and program effectiveness. 

The recognition of zinc deficiency as an important contributor to the high rates of morbidity, mortality, and delayed growth and development among children is relatively recent in contrast to the earlier recognition of the importance and widespread occurrence of deficiencies of iodine, vitamin A, and iron. Coordinated efforts to address vitamin A deficiency in less developed countries were formally... 

Mortality Given the contribution of zinc deficiency to three of the most common causes of death among children in developing countries (i.e., diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria) it can be expected that zinc deficiency also contributes substantially to childhood mortality among these populations. Although still limited, available information... 

Dietary micronutrient deficiencies, such as the lack of vitamin A, iodine, iron or zinc, are a major source of morbidity (increased susceptibility to disease) and mortality... 

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