Effect of zinc and vitamin A supplementation on immune responses in Indonesian pre-schoolers.

What Was Tested

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

Vitamin A and zinc are interrelated, but the effects of zinc on vitamin A supplementation on morbidity are inconsistent and not well understood.

The researchers investigated the effects of zinc and vitamin A supplementation on immune responses in Indonesian pre-schoolers.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 826 children were involved.

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

Hair, blood and saliva samples were collected to measure hair zinc and serum retinol (vitamin A) concentration, ex-vivo IFN-γ, serum IgG and salivary IgA from 81 children selected randomly from each group.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

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.

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

Data were collected at baseline, two and four months, resulting in 4 groups for comparisons: - no zinc no vitamin A (Placebo), zinc only, vitamin A only, and zinc plus vitamin A.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Dietary Supplements, Immunity, Indonesia, Vitamin A 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 in 826 children.

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

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2020 (Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition), a journal based in China.

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