Adding zinc to supplemental iron and folic acid does not affect mortality and severe morbidity in young children.

Study answer

What this study found

Adding zinc to iron and folic acid did not improve severe morbidity or survival. All-cause hospitalizations were similar between the zinc plus IFA and IFA-only groups: 980 versus 916 admissions, 25 versus 23 admissions per 1000 child-years, rate ratio 1.08 (0.98, 1.19). Mortality was also unchanged: 326 versus 321 deaths, 8.3 versus 8.2 deaths per 1000 child-years, hazard ratio 1.02 (0.87, 1.19). Cause-specific hospitalization estimates for diarrhea, pneumonia, and other causes were likewise not significantly different, supporting the conclusion of no meaningful overall benefit from adding…

Study & population

This was a large community-based randomized trial in urban north and northwest Delhi, India, enrolling young children aged 1 to 23 months from low-to-middle-income urban neighborhoods.

Intervention

The active regimen was an oral daily zinc plus iron and folic acid tablet for 12 months: 10 mg elemental zinc, 12.5 mg iron, and 50 mg folic acid.

Key limitation

The intervention was tested only in urban Delhi children, which may limit generalizability to other settings.

View full study detailsView sourceOpen PDF

Original abstract