Effect of zinc supplementation on preventing Diarrhea in children

Introduction: Diarrhea still remains a leading cause of mortality in developing countries. Zinc has been reported to affect the treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children. This study was aimed at evaluating the prophylactic effect of zinc on prevention of diarrhea in children. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was performed on 100 children of 6-36 months referring to Children Hospital outpatient clinic in Bandar Abbas who had no diarrhea during the study and no underlying medical condition such as celiac and allergy to cow’s milk. The subjects were randomly divided into two 50-member groups of supplementation who received zinc sulfate for three months and control who received no drugs. All children were followed up every 3 weeks for one year. Gastroenteritis, type of diarrhea, and the duration of each episode were recorded. Data were analyzed with Chi-square and t-test. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 21.5±7.9 months (ranged from 6 to 36 months) 61% of whom were male and 39% were female. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of baseline characteristics and history of vaccination. The incidence of diarrhea, fever, and vomiting had no statistically significant difference between both groups (P=0.83, P=0.88, P=0.53, respectively). No significant difference existed between the groups in terms of the mean number of diarrheal episodes (P=0.96) and the duration of diarrhea (P=0.09). Conclusion: The use of zinc for three months as prophylaxis had no impact on reducing the number and incidence of diarrhea in children aged between 6 and 36 months.