A Comparison of the Zinc, Copper and Manganese Status of Very Low Birth Weight Pre‐Term and Full‐Term Infants during the First Twelve Months

During a longitudinal study, hair samples and dietary intake data were collected from 50 preterm (mean birth weight = 1054 ± 234 g, mean gestational age = 29 ± 2.5 weeks) and 60 full‐term infants (mean birth weight = 3 509 ± 269 g, mean gestational age = 40+1 weeks) at 3, 6 and 12 months of age. Mean daily zinc, copper and manganese intakes were calculated using three‐day dietary records and test‐weight data for the breast‐fed infants. Hair samples were analyzed for these elements by instrumental neutron activation analyses. The medium hair zinc concentration in the pre‐term group at six months (81 μg/g) was lower (p < 0.05) than that of the full‐term group (144 μg/g) and was associated with lower mean dietary zinc intakes at 3 and 6 months. At 12 months, the median hair copper (12.5 μg/g) and manganese (0.18 μg/g) concentrations for the pre‐term were lower (p < 0.05) than those of the full‐term infants (Cu = 16.5 μg/g; Mn = 0.25 μg/g) and were also associated with low dietary copper and manganese intakes

A Comparison of the Zinc, Copper and Manganese Status of Very Low Birth Weight Pre‐Term and Full‐Term Infants during the First Twelve Months Journal Articles