Symptomatic zinc deficiency in a breast-fed, premature infant

Zinc deficiency in an exclusively breast-fed preterm infant

“…We consider the reduced exogenous supply of zinc as the most likely cause for the development of zinc deficiency syndrome. Our assumption is supported by a number of published cases on zinc deficiency in premature infants [2,6,9,12,25,29,38,42]. Only one zinc deficient premature infant has been documented as having been raised on a formula diet [7] indicating a correlation between a decreased zinc supply in some mothers' milk and zinc deficiency in the patients.…”

“…Therefore, zinc deficiency syndrome is rare among breastfed term and preterm infants [1,2,6,9,12,22,24,25,27,29,38,42].…”

Preventing Zinc Deficiency in Early Infancy: Impact on Morbidity, Growth and Mortality

“…Moynahan and Barnes [19,20] first noted the association of zinc deficiency with Acrodermatitis enteropathica. In premature infants, transient Zinc Deficiency in Early Infancy symptomatic zinc deficiency (TSZD) has been reported in breast-fed infants [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] and Husnoo et al [30] described 1 premature breast-fed infant with low zinc levels. These children had serum zinc levels below normal at the time of diagnosis, they responded rapidly to zinc supplementation, and the zinc supplement could be discontinued without recurrence of symptoms.…”

“…These children had serum zinc levels below normal at the time of diagnosis, they responded rapidly to zinc supplementation, and the zinc supplement could be discontinued without recurrence of symptoms. Of the 7 studies measuring breast milk zinc levels in mothers, 6 [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] had low while 1 had normal levels [29]. TSZD is thought to be due to negative zinc balance and high demand for rapid growth in preterm infants, supporting the concept that zinc deficiency of some degree may be occurring in infants fed breast milk alone.…”