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Dietary and Non-dietary Factors Associated with Serum Zinc in Indian Women

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Abstract

Women in low-income settings, common in India, are at risk of inadequate zinc intake due to poor diet quality and low consumption of flesh foods rich in zinc. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of zinc status of non-pregnant rural and tribal women living in central India and to identify dietary and non-dietary factors associated with the biochemical zinc status of these women. Rural and tribal non-pregnant women 18–30 years of age were selected using proportion to population sampling near Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Sociodemographic, biochemical (serum zinc), clinical, and dietary data (1-day interactive 24-h recall) were collected. The mean age of women (n = 109; rural = 52; tribal = 56) was 23.2 years and mean BMI was 17.9 kg/m2. The majority of the participants identified as being non-vegetarian (72 %). The mean ± SD serum zinc concentration was 10.8 ± 1.6 μmol/L, and 52 % of participants had a low serum zinc concentration according to the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). The median (first and third quartile) energy, zinc intake, and phytate/zinc molar ratio was 5.4 (4.2, 6.7) MJ/day, 5.3 (3.8, 7.0) mg/day, and 26 (22, 28), respectively. Zinc intakes were well below IZiNCG recommendations for dietary zinc of 9 mg/day for non-pregnant women aged 14–18 years and 7 mg/day for non-pregnant women aged ≥19 years. Using linear regression analysis to identify non-dietary and dietary factors associated with serum zinc, a significant association was only found for current lactation (p = 0.012) and energy intake (p < 0.001). Diets low in energy with poor bioavailability of dietary zinc are likely to be the primary cause of the high proportion of Indian women with zinc deficiency.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a University of Otago Research Grant and the Department of Human Nutrition’s Performance Based Research Fund. We thank all the women and families who participated in this study; our dedicated research assistants Dr. Harish Wankhede, Jayasree Barai, Mamta Wankhede, Ritu Hadekar, Neelima Selukar, Vaishali Nagarare, Vaishali Patil, Sachin Paunikar, Raju Kalbhut, Vijay Panchdane, Rupali Nimbekar, and Atul Dandekar; Ramtek Block Primary Health Centre medical officers and staff; and Ramtek Block ICDS staff.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Catherine A. Herbst, Christine D. Thomson, Karl Bailey & Sheila A. Skeaff

  2. Lifestyle Science Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Bertram, 13200, Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Kavitha C. Menon

  3. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Elaine L. Ferguson

  4. Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Andrew R. Gray

  5. Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India

    Sanjay Zodpey

  6. Health and Family Welfare Training Institute, Nagpur, India

    Abhay Saraf & Prabir Kumar Das

Authors
  1. Catherine A. Herbst
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  2. Kavitha C. Menon
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  3. Elaine L. Ferguson
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  10. Sheila A. Skeaff
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Correspondence to Sheila A. Skeaff.

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Herbst, C.A., Menon, K.C., Ferguson, E.L. et al. Dietary and Non-dietary Factors Associated with Serum Zinc in Indian Women. Biol Trace Elem Res 161, 38–47 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0090-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0090-9

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