Table 6.
Estimated marginal means of fractional zinc absorption (%) and amount of zinc (mg) absorbed from study meals, and mean differences (95% confidence intervals) between meals in Kenyan children aged 24–36 monthsa
| Fractional zinc absorption (%)1 | Amount of zinc absorbed (mg)2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meal type | Geometric mean (95% CI) | Ratio of geometric means3 (95% CI) | P-value | Geometric mean (95% CI) | Ratio of geometric means3 (95% CI) | P-value |
| Primary outcome: | ||||||
| LZ: no crickets – low Zn enriched | 15.2 (12.9, 18.1) | Reference | 0.14 (0.11, 0.16) | Reference | ||
| WC: whole cricket flour | 13.8 (11.6, 16.4) | 0.9 (0.7, 1.2) | 1.000 | 0.36 (0.30, 0.43) | 2.6 (1.9, 3.6) | < 0.001 |
| Secondary outcomes: | ||||||
| WC: whole cricket flour | 13.8 (11.6, 16.4) | Reference | 0.36 (0.30, 0.43) | Reference | ||
| EC: low-chitin cricket flour | 12.6 (10.6, 15.0) | 0.9 (0.7, 1.2) | 1.000 | 0.34 (0.28, 0.40) | 0.9 (0.7, 1.3) | 1.000 |
| HZ: no crickets – high Zn enriched | 7.3 (6.1, 8.8) | Reference | 0.24 (0.20, 0.29) | Reference | ||
| WC: whole cricket flour | 13.8 (11.6, 16.4) | 1.9 (1.4, 2.6) | <0.001 | 0.36 (0.30, 0.43) | 1.5 (1.1, 2.1) | 0.004 |
| EC: low-chitin cricket flour | 12.6 (10.6, 15.0) | 1.7 (1.3, 2.4) | <0.001 | 0.34 (0.28, 0.40) | 1.4 (1.0, 2.0) | 0.019 |
| LZ: no crickets – low Zn enriched | 15.2 (12.9, 18.1) | 2.1 (1.5, 2.9) | <0.001 | 0.14 (0.11, 0.16) | 0.6 (0.4, 0.8) | < 0.001 |
aValues are geometric means (95% CIs). Linear mixed model with subject as random factor; meals, block and meal sequence within block as fixed factors; and serum zinc (SZn) as fixed covariate. P-values reflect two-sided testing with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. 1Fractional zinc absorption (%) from test maize flour meal with WC) 16.14 g intrinsically labeled (0.41 mg 67Zn) whole cricket flour (n = 28); EC) 15.54 g intrinsically labeled (0.33 mg 67Zn) low-chitin cricket flour + unlabeled 0.51 mg ZnSO4 (n = 28); HZ) 0.75 mg 68ZnSO4 + unlabeled 2.34 mg ZnSO4 (n = 25); and LZ) 0.75 mg 68ZnSO4 (n = 29), respectively, in Kenyan children. ZnSO4, zinc sulfate. 2Calculated based on the fractional absorption and zinc content of the test meals (Table 1). 3A ratio of geometric means <1 should be interpreted as a negative effect compared to the reference, and a ratio >1 as a positive effect compared to the reference. For instance, a ratio of 0.9 indicates that the treatment effect is 10% lower compared to the reference. A 95% CI that includes 1 does not rule out a null effect.