“Micronutrient deficiencies are estimated to impact a significant number of people around the world, but there remains far too little information on micronutrient status and deficiencies. More essential information and surveillance need to be gathered to make substantial progress on global targets.”
Global Nutrition Report 2018
There is an urgent need for more and better data on the zinc status of vulnerable populations to effectively target and monitor zinc intervention programs. IZiNCG’s new Technical Brief no. 9 outlines the value of measuring plasma/serum zinc concentration in national nutrition or health-related surveys. If a population is considered at high-risk of zinc deficiency based on inadequacy of zinc in the food supply or a high prevalence of child stunting, IZiNCG recommends that plasma/serum zinc be measured in vulnerable groups.
We are pleased that plasma/serum zinc data are now included in the World Health Organization’s Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System Micronutrient Database and have partnered with the Micronutrient Forum to initiate a working group to promote the inclusion of micronutrient biomarkers in large-scale surveys.
For more information about the measurement of plasma or serum zinc concentrations, refer to previous IZiNCG Technical Briefs and Technical Documents, and the Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND) - Zinc Review.