Micronutrients and Diarrhea

Excerpt

In 2010, globally there were 1·73 billion episodes of diarrhea (36 million of which progressed to severe episodes), mostly in developing countries, and 212,000 diarrheal deaths in children younger than five years in India [1]. Underlying malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are risk factors for diarrheal diseases and an underlying cause of 61% of childhood deaths as a result of reduced immunity and delay in recovery [2]. High prevalence of stunting in a population is indicative of zinc deficiency [3]. Zinc plays a compelling biological role in etiopathogenesis of diarrhea due to its substantive role in both non-specific and specific immune functions [4]. Its benefit in reducing the duration of diarrhea, especially in children older than 6 mo has been reported in numerous randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis [5]. It is the only micronutrient that has been recommended by WHO and UNICEF to be coupled with oral rehydration salts for the treatment of all diarrhea episodes and featured in the list of 13 Life Saving Commodities for Women’s and Children Health by the UN Commission [6]. However majority of the beneficial evidence are from studies conducted in Asia and there remains moderate to high heterogeneity between trials. This indicates that further research is needed to ascertain the confidence in the estimate of this effect. …