Zinc Status and Cadmium Exposure in Stunted Children Aged from 24 to 59 Months: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Stunting prevalence in Indonesia was increasing year by year. Zinc plays an important role in the growth, development and functioning of all living cells. Cadmium is a heavy toxic heavy metal that can interact with an essential element such as zinc at different stages of absorption, distribution and excretion as well as its biological function. We analyzed correlation between zinc status and cadmium exposure with Z-Score Height by Age (HA) in stunted children. This study was observational analytic research with a cross sectional design. 35 stunted children aged from 24 to 59 months (HA < -2SD) were taken as a sample by simple random sampling of family and children collected by questionnaire including smoking exposure in family. Zinc concentration was measured in hair, and cadmium exposure was measured in urine by spectrophotometry method. The data was analyzed by linear regression. The result showed that the most stunted child was a boy with a mean of Z-score HA equal to -2.9; 17% were born with low birth (<2500gr). The average zinc concentration in their hair showed 82.84 ppm and the cadmium concentration in urine was 2.6 μg/L. A significant correlation was found between zinc and cadmium concentration with Z-Score HA (p=0.000).