Niveles séricos de cinc (Zn), hierro (Fe) y cobre (Cu) de preescolares que acuden a consulta en los ambulatorios urbanos tipo III de la Ciudad de Mérida.

Abstract

Much interest has been centered on the investigation of serum levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in health and disease. There are numerous reports related to trace elements concentration in blood sera of children. However, reports on serum concentration of these trace elements in preschool-age children of Merida City are rare. Consequently, the aim of this work was to obtain information about the “reference values” of Zn, Cu and Fe in the blood serum of 130 preschool children of the both sexes, aged 2-6 years old who attended the Urban Ambulatories Type III at Merida city, during the month of July to September, 2001. The relation between serum values of trace elements, age, sex and nutritional status was also investigated. Mean serum concentrations of Zn (SZn), Cu (SCu) and Fe (SFe) were 0.78±0.24, 1.18±0.51 and 0.77±0.18 µg/ml, respectively. There was a tendency for SZn and SFe to increase with age, whereas SCu decreased. There were not significant differences in serum trace elements between males and females in the different age groups. If the cutoff values of <0.70 (SZn), <0.90 (SCu) and <0.50 (SFe) µg/mL are chosen to indicate subjects at possible risk for Zn, Cu and Fe deficiency then 45%, 5% and 8% of the children are at risk. The present study shows a significant (p<0.05) influence of nutritional status on serum concentration of Zn, Cu and Fe. The Chi-squared test demonstrated a statistically association (p<0.05) between the decrease of SZn, diarrhea, lower respiratory infections and presence of parasites. However, additional studies are needed for the precise mechanisms of these interrelations to be clarified