Zinc supplementation in infants with asymmetric intra uterine growth retardation; effect on growth, nutritional status and leptin secretion.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

To analyse the effect of zinc supplementation in growth and nutritional status of a homogeneous group of newborns with intra uterine growth retardation and asymmetric growth.

The effect of changes of zinc status on growth and leptin serum concentrations was also analysed.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 31 infants taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as infants, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

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

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

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

The subject headings attached to it are Child Development, Dietary Supplements, Fetal Growth Retardation, Growth, Leptin, Longitudinal Studies and Nutritional Status.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 31 infants.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 8 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2008 (Nutricion hospitalaria), a journal based in Spain.

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