Zinc supplementation reduces morbidity and mortality in very-low-birth-weight preterm neonates: a hospital-based randomized, placebo-controlled trial in an industrialized country.

What Was Tested

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

Zinc plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of many diseases and in body growth.

Preterm neonates have high zinc requirements.

Who Took Part

PubMed tags the participants as both men and women.

This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled study of very-low-birth-weight preterm neonates randomly allocated on the seventh day of life to receive (zinc group) or not receive (control group) oral zinc supplementation.

How the Study Was Run

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

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

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.

The main endpoint was the rate of neonates with ≥ 1 of the following morbidities: late-onset sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, periventricular leucomalacia, and retinopathy of prematurity.

Secondary outcomes were mortality and body growth.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Child Development, Dietary Supplements, Enterocolitis, Necrotizing, Infant, Premature, Infant, Premature, Diseases and Infant, Very Low Birth Weight.

What This Means in Plain Language

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

Its findings take up roughly 7 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2013 (The American journal of clinical nutrition), a journal based in United States.

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