ABSTRACT
Zinc is essential for human health and its deficiency can lead to various biochemical disorders. The aim of this study was to determine serum zinc concentration in the middle school students of Sanandaj in 2006 and its relation with gender, body mass index [BMI] and educational status. In this cross sectional study 301 students in the middle schools of Sanandaj were selected randomly. BMI was calculated and educational status was obtained from school educational records. Serum zinc concentration was measured by use of flame-atomic absorption spectrometry. Collected data was analyzed by means of T-test, analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation coefficient statistical techniques. Regardless of gender, the mean concentration of zinc in serum was 90.1 +/- 19.1 micro g/dl. The mean concentration of serum zinc levels in boys [93.6 +/- 22.6 micro g/d] was significantly higher [87.4 +/- 15.4 micro g/dl] than that of girls [p < 0.05]. In 31.2% of the students serum zinc concentration was lower than normal value. No correlation was found between serum zinc concentration, BMI and educational status of the students. More than thirty percent of middle school students in Sanandaj suffer from severe or mild zinc deficiency. Considering the importance of zinc in human health, further studies are needed to determine the prevalence of zinc deficiency in Sanandaj in order to plan for future interventions