Table 1 Socio-demographic and health characteristics of children aged 6 to 59 months by the status of zinc deficiency, Nepal National Micronutrient Status Survey, Nepal, 2016.

From: Serum zinc status is a matter of concern among children and non-pregnant women in a nationwide survey of Nepal

Socio-demographic and health characteristics

Zinc deficiencya (N = 335, 22.9% [95%CI 18.9, 25.1]

No Zinc deficiency (N = 1127, 77.1% [95%CI 74.9, 81.1]

Total (N = 1462)

n

n

n

Socio-demographic characteristics

Age, months

335

33.3 (31.4, 35.2)

1127

34.0 (32.7, 35.2)

1462

33.8 (32.7, 34.9)

Sex (%)

Male

177

54.7 (49.1, 60.1)

573

54.9 (51.5, 58.2)

750

54.8 (51.7, 57.9)

Female

158

45.4 (40.0, 50.8)

554

45.1 (41.8, 48.5)

712

45.2 (42.1, 48.3)

Rurality (%)

Rural

314

94.5 (88.6, 97.5)

959

85.8 (77.8, 91.2)

1273

87.7 (80.6, 92.4)

Urban

21

5.5 (2.5, 11.4)

168

14.2 (8.8, 22.2)

189

12.3 (7.7, 19.4)

Ecological zone (%)

Mountain

68

10.6 (7.5, 14.9)

172

7.2 (5.3, 9.7)

240

7.9 (6.1, 10.3)

Hill

157

46.2 (38.1, 54.5)

464

42.2 (36.3, 48.3)

621

43.1 (37.3, 49.0)

Terai

110

43.2 (34.7, 52.1)

491

50.6 (44.5, 56.8)

601

49.0 (43.1, 55.0)

Household wealth quintile (%)

Poorest

139

33.0 (25.0, 39.9)

271

18.2 (14.2, 23.1)

410

21.2 (16.9, 26.3)

Poorer

60

17.7 (12.8, 24.0)

246

20.6 (17.0, 24.7)

306

19.9 (16.5, 23.9)

Middle

50

17.2 (12.7, 22.9)

208

20.3 (16.3, 24.9)

258

19.6 (16.0, 23.8)

Richer

53

19.9 (14.3, 27.1)

208

19.7 (16.3, 23.5)

261

19.7 (16.6, 23.3)

Richest

33

13.2 (7.8, 21.7)

194

21.2 (15.8, 27.9)

227

19.5 (14.4, 25.8)

Ethnicity (%)

Brahmin or Chettri (%)

130

32.4 (25.5, 40.2)

389

30.6 (25.3, 36.4)

519

31.0 (26.0, 36.5)

Other Terai Castes

22

13.4 (7.3, 23.1)

84

13.9 (7.9, 23.3)

106

13.8 (7.9, 22.9)

Hill Dalit

55

10.6 (7.1, 15.5)

184

11.5 (8.6, 15.1)

239

11.3 (8.6, 14.6)

Terai Dalit

18

6.9 (3.3, 13.8)

59

7.2 (4.2, 12.0)

77

7.1 (4.2, 11.9)

Newar

6

2.0 (7.6, 5.0)

39

4.1 (2.4, 6.8)

45

3.6 (2.2, 5.9)

Hill Janajati

75

25.6 (18.5, 34.1)

257

23.1 (17.8, 29.5)

332

23.7 (18.2, 30.1)

Terai Janajati

24

7.4 (4.4, 12.2)

72

5.1 (3.4, 7.5)

96

5.6 (3.9, 8.0)

Muslims

4

1.6 (0.4, 5.8)

42

4.6 (2.5, 8.3)

46

4.0 (2.2, 7.2)

Others

1

 

1

 

2

 

Hemoglobinb (g/dL)

335

11.77 (11.61, 11.93)

1127

11.85 (11.74, 11.96)

1462

11.83 (11.73, 11.93)

Anemiac (%)

 

21.3 (16.7, 26.9)

 

18.7 (15.3, 22.7)

 

19.3 (16.2, 22.8)

Anthropometry (%)

Stunting

144

37.6 (30.1, 45.8)

409

35.2 (30.7, 40.0)

553

35.7 (31.6, 40.1)

Wasting

32

12.1 (7.6, 18.8)

124

12.0 (9.8, 14.6)

156

12.0 (9.6, 15.0)

Underweight

112

31.8 (25.2, 39.2)

331

29.8 (25.8, 34.2)

443

30.3 (26.3, 34.5)

Two week morbidity recall (%)

Fever

115

33.3 (26.9, 40.4)

413

36.6 (32.7, 40.7)

528

35.9 (32.5, 39.4)

Cough

105

33.6 (27.5, 40.2)

439

38.8 (34.8, 43.1)

544

37.7 (34.1, 41.4)

Diarrhoea

78

25.5 (19.6, 32.3)

202

18.3 (15.3, 21.6)

280

19.8 (17.1, 22.9)

Took zinc tablet in last seven days (%)

3

0.87 (0.26, 2.93)

14

0.95 (0.51, 1.75)

17

0.93 (0.53, 1.62)

CRP (mg/L)

335

1.85 (1.28, 2.41)

1127

1.98 (1.70, 2.25)

1462

1.95 (1.69, 2.20)

AGP (g/L)

335

0.84 (0.76, 0.92)

1127

0.87 (0.84, 0.91)

1462

0.87 (0.83, 0.90)

Prevalence of CRP > 5 mg/L and AGP > 1 g/L

24

7.0 (4.2, 11.3)

89

8.3 (6.7, 10.3)

113

8.0 (6.5, 9.9)

Prevalence of CRP > 5 mg/L or AGP > 1 g/L

24

23.6 (18.3, 29.9)

89

28.6 (25.5, 31.9)

113

27.5 (24.7, 30.5)

Malaria (%)

0

 

0

 

0

 

Helicobacter pylori (%)

80

22.6 (16.9, 29.5)

208

18.7 (15.4, 22.6)

288

19.6 (16.4, 23.2)

Any soil transmitted helminthsd (%)

52

16.1 (10.6, 23.7)

128

11.2 (9.0, 13.8)

180

12.3 (9.8, 15.3)

Micronutrient status

Serum ferritin (ug/L)

335

24.60 (22.15, 27.05)

1127

26.72 (24.73, 28.71)

1462

26.26 (24.53, 27.98)

Serum sTfR (mg/L)e

335

9.49 (8.73, 10.26)

1127

9.42 (8.94, 9.89)

1462

9.43 (9.01, 9.86)

Iron deficiency by ferritinf (%)

71

23.5 (18.4, 29.6)

236

22.2 (18.6, 26.2)

307

22.5 (19.5, 25.8)

Serum RBP (umol/L)

335

0.97 (0.94, 1.01)

1127

1.03 (1.01, 1.05)

1462

1.01 (1.00, 1.03)

Vitamin A deficiencyg (%)

5

6.6 (2.7, 15.1)

11

3.2 (1.6, 6.3)

16

4.0 (2.4, 6.6)

RBC folate (nmol/L)

335

711.28 (663.06, 759.51)

1127

709.34 (678.69, 739.99)

1462

709.76 (680.93, 738.59)

Risk of folate deficiencyh (%)

15

5.2 (2.8, 9.6)

59

5.9 (3.8, 9.1)

74

5.8 (3.8, 8.8)

Serum Zinc (ug/dL)

335

45.88 (43.64, 48.12)

1127

100.49 (97.58, 103.41)

1462

88.55 (85.32, 91.79)

  1. Ns are unweighted. Values presented are mean(95%CI) or percent(95%CI). All estimates account for weighting and complex sampling design.
  2. AGP ɑ-1 acid glycoprotein, CI confidence interval, CRP C-reactive protein, RBC red blood cell, RBP retinol-binding protein.
  3. aZinc deficiency defined as serum zinc < 65.0 μg/ dL for nonfasted, morning (i. e. before 12 pm) samples and < 57.0 μg/ dL for non-fasted, afternoon (i. e. after 12 p.m.) samples, inflammation adjusted38.
  4. bHemoglobin adjusted for altitude and smoking39.
  5. cAnemia defined as altitude-and smoking-adjusted Hb < 12.0 g/dL39.
  6. dSoil-transmitted helminths including hookworm, Trichuris trichura, and Ascaris lumbricodes.
  7. eBiomarker was regression-adjusted to a pooled country reference to adjust for inflammation, using CRP and AGP (ferritin) or AGP only40.
  8. fIron deficiency defined as inflammation-adjusted serum ferritin < 15.0 μg/L39.
  9. gVitamin A deficiency was defined as RBP < 0.64 μmol/ L.
  10. hFolate cut off based on the risk of megaloblastic anemia defined as RBC folate < 305.0 nmol/L41.
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