Decreased serum levels of nutritional biochemical indices in healthy children with marginally delayed physical growth.

Biochemical markers of nutritional status (albumin, transthyretin, insulin-like growth factor-I and zinc) were measured in slowly growing two- to five-year-old, low-income Parisian children whose weight-for-height or height-for-age z scores (WHZ or HAZ) were between -1 and -2 SD of the NCHS median. The results were compared to controls who were matched for age, sex, and ethnic origin with WHZ and HAZ between -1 and +2 SD. Mean serum levels of transthyretin, albumin and insulin-like growth factor-I and mean plasma zinc concentrations were significantly lower in the growth-impaired children than in the controls (p = 0.002, p = 0.006, p = 0.015, and p = 0.035, respectively). While the height-retarded children had low mean serum insulin-like growth factor-I values, the weight-retarded subjects had decreased levels of albumin, transthyretin and zinc when compared to controls. Lower mean levels of nutritional markers in healthy, slowly growing children suggest that inadequate dietary intakes of zinc, protein and/or energy may result in marginal delays in weight and height gains.