Linear growth and zinc supplementation in children with short stature.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Physical growth retardation is an early and prominent feature of zinc deficiency, but the effect of zinc supplementation in children is still not completely clear.

This study investigated the impact of zinc supplementation on linear growth, growth velocity, IGF-I levels, and skeletal maturation of short children during and after mineral supplementation.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were children, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc could be set against what happens without it.

What Was Measured

This study investigated the impact of zinc supplementation on linear growth, growth velocity, IGF-I levels, and skeletal maturation of short children during and after mineral supplementation.

Measurements included plasma Zn, IGF-I, height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, and body mass index.

The subject headings attached to it are Body Height, Child Development, Gastrointestinal Diseases and Zinc.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The publication is from 2001 (Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.