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Zinc levels in neonatal life influence long-term neurodevelopment

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 1196–1197 (2021)Cite this article

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The process of brain maturation during fetal life significantly increases around the 26th week of gestation; preterm birth suddenly interrupts this process, therefore representing a main risk factor for neurodevelopment (NDV) impairment in postnatal life [1, 2]. Moreover, multiple modifiable factors, occurring in the first weeks of life of a preterm infant, might in turn impair brain development, such as nutritional intake [1]. Many preclinical studies demonstrated a key role of zinc (Zn) intake in neurodevelopmental processes [2]. Brion at al. recently published a cohort study on Journal of Perinatology, demonstrating that Zn supplementation improved head circumference [3]. However, they concluded that there is still urgent need of studies regarding the effects of early life Zn supplementation and Zn deficiency on NDV.

To make our contribution in addressing this issue, we herein show our data regarding the relationship between serum Zn levels in preterm newborns and long-term effects on NDV. We enrolled newborns born between 23 and 34 weeks of postmenstrual age, consecutively admitted in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, from 24 December 2014 to 15 May 2016. We excluded newborns with major congenital disorders and infections. Blood samples for Zn measurement, clinical data collection and analysis, and neonatal nutritional protocol, were performed as described in our previous studies [4, 5]. Children were assessed for NDV at 12 months of life by a trained psychologist, who administer the scales of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development - III Edition. To estimate impairment level, we considered a standardized score <1 Standard Deviation from the test mean. We performed correlation between serum Zn levels in the first month of life and NDV at 12 months of life by Wilcoxon rank sum tests and by Pearson correlation. We performed a linear regression analysis to evaluate the possible influence of systemic steroids use, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia and parenteral nutrition intake of the first 7 days of life (DOL) and serum Zn levels at 28 DOL, on NDV score at 12 months of life [2]. The level of significance was 2-sided (p < 0.05).

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Maternal and Child Health, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy

    Giovanni Boscarino, Corinna Gasparini, Maria Giulia Conti, Maria Di Chiara & Gianluca Terrin

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  1. Giovanni Boscarino
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  2. Corinna Gasparini
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  3. Maria Giulia Conti
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  4. Maria Di Chiara
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  5. Gianluca Terrin
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Contributions

GB and GT were responsible for the study design and statistical analysis; GB, CG, MGC, MDC, and GT were responsible for the data collection; GB, MGC, and GT were responsible for the literature search and manuscript drafting; All authors were responsible for critical revision and approved the submitted version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gianluca Terrin.

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Boscarino, G., Gasparini, C., Conti, M.G. et al. Zinc levels in neonatal life influence long-term neurodevelopment. J Perinatol 41, 1196–1197 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-01012-x

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