RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between school academic records and the iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc content in adolescent girls' hair. METHODS: The iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc content in hair samples from 148 adolescent girls was determined by atomic absorption spectrometer. Their academic records from 2 school semesters were interrelated. RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between magnesium (r = 0.20; p = 0.016), and zinc (r = 0.31; p = 0.001) content in the hair and academic records. Conversely, the academic records had an inverse correlation with the potassium content (r = -0.23; p = 0.019). CONCLUSION: The content of magnesium, potassium, and zinc in adolescent girls' hair has a certain correlation with their learning performance. The exact effects of these three trace elements on adolescent learning performance warrants further study.
