Beneficial effects of zinc supplementation on head circumference of Nepalese infants and toddlers: a randomized controlled trial.

What Was Tested

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

To assess the effects of micronutrient supplementation on head circumference of rural Nepali infants and children.

The researchers used a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of micronutrient supplementation on head circumference in 569 rural Nepali infants and children aged 4-17 months.

Who Took Part

The study group was 569 infants.

The age groups tagged for this paper are infants, both men and women.

Children were randomized to: (1) zinc, (2) iron-folic acid, (3) zinc plus iron-folic acid or (4) a placebo group.

The researchers calculated change in head circumference in treatment groups receiving zinc and iron comparing the first and fifth visits as well as used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to take advantage of data from all points in time.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized 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.

Some infants received a placebo instead of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, giving a reference point.

Data on head circumference were collected during five visits at ∼3 month intervals over the course of a year.

Models were adjusted for covariates unbalanced in the randomization and for baseline head circumference.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Child Development, Confidence Intervals, Dietary Supplements, Folic Acid, Head, Iron and Iron, Dietary.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 569 infants.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 4 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2012 (European journal of clinical nutrition), a journal based in England.

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