THE EFFECT
OF ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTION
IN CHILDREN AT KAMAL VILLAGE, JAKARTA, INDONESIA
Widagdo, MH, Gandaputra EP,
Hannah, SN, Munir M
Department
of Child Health, Trisakti Medical Faculty, Jakarta, Indonesia
Objective: The National Household
Health Survey performed in 1995 showed the incidence of upper respiratory
infection (URI) in Indonesia was 23.5%. Several studies on the effect of
zinc supplementation in the reduction of respiratory infection have reported
inconsistent results. The objective of this community base study is to
evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation in the attempt to reduce the
high incidence of URI in Indonesia.
Methods: We evaluated the effect
of daily supplementation of 10 mg elemental zinc in a double blind,
randomized, controlled trial consisting of 40 children (zinc group) and 44
children (placebo group) of 6 month to 5 year old. The base line data of
both groups are not significantly different in statistics. Supplementation
and morbidity surveillance was performed once a week regularly for 2 months
period.
Results: During the 2-month
study we found 24 cases in the zinc group and 24 cases in the placebo group
(not significant different). The evidence of URI and the duration of cough,
runny nose, and fever did not show significant difference either. Time
series trend analysis of the zinc group showed a negative slope (Y t: a – b
x), while the placebo group showed a positive slope (Y t: a + b x).
Conclusion: This study didn’t show
any significant difference in the reduction of URI yet. Since the time
series analysis clearly shows the reduction of URI, therefore a regular
zinc supplementation to the children diet in the community can be
considered. A further study in a larger scope may be required to achieve a
significant result.