OBJECTIVE: This study examined the power of hair zinc concentration to diagnose zinc deficiency by comparing hair zinc concentration with serum zinc level. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 170 children aged 12 to 72 months. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used for determining the sensitivity and specificity of the best cutoff point for diagnosing zinc deficiency in hair. The statistical significance of the area under the curve was also verified. RESULTS: The best cutoff for zinc concentration in hair was 292.52ppm (sensitivity of 55.6%, a specificity of 60.8%), with an area under the curve of 0.549, without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of zinc deficiency based on hair zinc concentration compared with serum zinc level has low sensitivity and its ideal cutoff is higher than the suggested cutoff. New studies are needed to research more sensitive and specific biochemical indicators of zinc deficiency, especially indicators without important technical limitations.
Child; Diagnosis; Nutritional status; Biological markers; Sensitivity and specificity; Zinc
