A study of plasma levels of zinc in children with pica in a public hospital setup

Background: Pica is the craving and purposeful consumption of non-food substances. In children with pica, there is a greater possibility of zinc deficiency.

Objectives: To study the plasma levels of zinc in children having pica and to study the efficacy of pica as a clinical marker of zinc deficiency.

Method: This is a case control study of children attending the outpatient department of a tertiary health centre. A total of 92 children were enrolled in the study, of which 46 children who had the habit of pica were taken as cases and the remaining 46 children without the habit of pica were enrolled as controls. Serum zinc levels of the 92 children were estimated.

Results: Of the 92 children included in the study, 56% of cases and 47% of controls belonged to the age group of 2 to 2.5 years. It was observed that 96% of cases had zinc deficiency whereas 100% of controls had normal zinc levels. The mean zinc level of the cases was 46.73±21.32mcg/dL compared to 148.5±15.4mcg/dL in the controls. Accuracy of pica as a clinical marker of zinc deficiency was 97%.

Conclusions: The mean zinc level of the cases who had pica was significantly lower than the mean zinc level of the controls indicating that pica is a useful clinical marker for zinc deficiency.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2023: 52(2): 182-187