Impact of zinc on sexual maturation of female sickle cell anemia (SCA) children in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.

What Was Tested

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

To determine the relationship between zinc levels and pattern of breast and pubic hair development, as well as menarcheal age of female SCA children aged 6-18 years and their matched controls with hemoglobin genotype AA.

Why It Was Studied

Adolescence is an important developmental period of childhood.

Good health and adequate nutrition consisting major food constituents and trace elements like zinc are fundamental for optimal sexual maturation.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are children and teenagers, women only.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized.

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.

Sexual maturation was assessed using Tanner staging and zinc levels determined using Atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

What Was Measured

Information on biodata, age at menarche, medical and drug history as well as 24-hour dietary recall was documented using interviewer administered questionnaire.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Anemia, Sickle Cell, Cross-Sectional Studies, Dietary Supplements, Menarche, Nigeria, Surveys and Questionnaires and Zinc.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Enugu, serum zinc, sexual maturation and sickle cell anemia.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in people with anemia.

The publication is from 2018 (Pediatric hematology and oncology), a journal based in England.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, Anemia research.