Zinc deficiency in a semiurban Nigerian community: prevalence and relationship with socioeconomic status and indices of metabolic syndrome

Aim The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of zinc deficiency in a semiurban community in Nigeria and to determine its relationship with the socioeconomic status and indices of metabolic syndrome in that community. Subjects and method Serum zinc concentrations were measured in 212 subjects during a community health screening programme. We determined zinc deficiency in the subjects using a normal reference range for serum zinc of 8–20 μmol/l. Results Two hundred twelve participants were enrolled in the study. Of these, 112 (52.83 %) were females. The average age of the study subjects was 44.6 ± 14.2 years. Prevalence of zinc deficiency in the community was estimated to be 50 %. The mean serum zinc level was significantly higher in participants older than 60 years compared with younger age groups (F (2,209) = 5.88, p 0.05). No significant difference was observed between social class categories using the Registrar General’s scale of social classes (F (4,207) = 1.97, p > 0.05).