Alterations in Nutritional Status, Serum Levels of Minerals and Trace Elements among Helminth-Infected and Non-infected School Children in Gondar town, Ethiopia

Abstract

Objectives: The present study was designed to evaluate the relationship between multiple micronutrient levels and nutritional status among school children with and without helminth infection in North-west Ethiopia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, anthropometric data, blood and stool samples were collected from 100 children in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. Serum concentration of magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium and molybdenum were measured by ICPMS. Anthropometric indices of weight-for-age, height-for-age and BMI-for-age were used to estimate the children's nutritional status. Stool samples were examined by standard microscopic methods for intestinal parasites. Results: The prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting and intestinal parasitoses among school children was 23%, 21%, 11% and18%, respectively. The mean serum levels of magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium and molybdenum were 2.42±0.32 (mg/dl), 15.31±2.14 (mg/dl), 328.19±148.91 (μg/dl), 191.30±50.17 (μg/dl), 86.40±42.40 (μg/dl), 6.32±2.59 (μg/dl), and 0.23±0.15 (μg/dl), respectively. Selenium deficiency, zinc deficiency and magnesium deficiency occurred in 62%, 47%, and 2% of the school children, respectively. Height-for-age showed significant positive correlation with the levels of copper and molybdenum (p = 0.01) and with the levels of magnesium (p = 0.05). Conclusions: Deficiencies of selenium and zinc were high among the school children although the deficiencies were not significantly related with their nutritional status. The prevalence of both malnutrition and intestinal parasitism was not negligible. These calls for the need to undertake multicentre studies in various parts of the country to substantiate this data so that appropriate and beneficial strategies for micronutrient supplementation and interventions on nutritional deficiencies can be planned.