Table 2.
Comparison of micronutrientstatus and T3 levels in adolescent Afghan refugees. Comparison was achieved by dividing participants into three equally-sized tertiles according to T3 levels
| Characteristics | T3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Tertile 1 | Tertile 2 | Tertile 3 | P-trend | |
| Median (Q1, Q3) of T3 | 1.05 (0.93, 1.16) | 1.42 (1.33, 1.51) | 1.79 (1.67, 2.06) | ||
| All age groups | |||||
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 39 (27, 61.4) | 48.0 (29.5, 79.6) | 35.0 (24.6, 49.0) | 40.6 (26.54, 59.45) | 0.09 |
| Folate (ng/mL) | 4.4 (3.4, 6.1) | 4.6 (3.1, 6.6) | 4.3 (3.6, 5.8) | 4.2 (3.6, 6) | 0.82 |
| Vitamin B12 (pg/mL) | 219 (157, 348) | 228 (167, 392) | 220.0 (155.0, 349.0) | 205.0 (161.0, 300.0) | 0.29 |
| Vitamin D (ng/mL) | 22.3 (16.2, 27.5) | 20.4 (13.9, 25.1) | 25.3 (19.3, 28.9) | 21.5 (15.7, 26.9) | 0.17 |
| Zinc (µg/L) | 787 (619, 932) | 809 (637, 939) | 784.5 (623.8, 934.4) | 758.6 (593.7, 891.7) | 0.33 |
| Copper (µg/L) | 951 (791, 1147) | 936 (771, 1217) | 970.2 (827.1, 1134.6) | 951.4 (797.1, 1082.3) | 0.56 |
| Selenium (µg/L) | 71.1 (50.5, 91.3) | 72.4 (55.4, 93.3) | 75.2 (50.5, 96.1) | 62.9 (45.1, 84.2) | 0.10 |
| Age (10–14) | |||||
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 37.7 (27.8, 51.6) | 39.4 (29.5, 60.3) | 35.5 (26.9, 44.7) | 40.7 (27.2, 59.5) | 0.95 |
| Folate (ng/mL) | 4.7 (3.6, 6.1) | 5.3 (4, 6.8) | 4.5 (3.625, 5.7) | 4 (3.6, 5.7) | 0.08 |
| Vitamin B12 (pg/mL) | 209 (155, 310) | 209.5 (157, 337) | 213.5 (155.5, 302.5) | 205.0 (154.0, 287.0) | 0.56 |
| Vitamin D (ng/mL) | 24.1 (7.3) | 22.9 (6.9) | 24.1 (7.5) | 25.0 (7.5) | 0.33 |
| Zinc (µg/L) | 789.6 (605.6, 934.4) | 773.2 (576.6, 900.7) | 798.4 (631.2, 933.7) | 789.6 (642.6, 949.4) | 0.46 |
| Copper (µg/L) | 992 (824.6, 1146.8) | 933.3 (765.7, 1188.6) | 1014.1 (837.4, 1146.4) | 987.7 (824.6, 1118.3) | 0.78 |
| Selenium (µg/L) | 72 (48.4, 91.4) | 73.4 (49.3, 102.5) | 70.5 (46.3, 95.5) | 68.5 (54.2, 86.2) | 0.48 |
| Age (15–18) | |||||
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 48.3 (23.5, 79.8) | 66.1 (31.3, 105.4) | 34.1 (17.5, 57.3) | 35.2 (23.1, 56.5) | 0.04 |
| Folate (ng/mL) | 4 (3.1, 6.3) | 4 (2.85, 6.05) | 4 (3, 6.2) | 4.8 (3.6, 6.7) | 0.20 |
| Vitamin B12 (pg/mL) | 244 (170, 400) | 250.0 (174.5, 428.5) | 250.0 (148.0, 443.0) | 207.0 (175.0, 349.5) | 0.59 |
| Vitamin D (ng/mL) | 17.3 (12, 25.1) | 16.8 (12, 23.65) | 24.4 (14.9, 30.4) | 14.7 (11.35, 17.35) | 0.91 |
| Zinc (µg/L) | 784.5 (621.4, 905.2) | 838.3 (713.5, 969.1) | 697.2 (623.8, 1011.0) | 632.9 (539.5, 746.0) | 0.004 |
| Copper (µg/L) | 926.1(731.2, 1107.3) | 947.3 (773.6, 1235.0) | 941.1 (761.1, 975.4) | 817.1 (615.5, 991.4) | 0.09 |
| Selenium (µg/L) | 70.6 (51.5, 89.5) | 71.1 (55.6, 88.4) | 85.9 (53.0, 100.2) | 42.9 (37.7, 71.5) | 0.08 |
Mean and range of T3 levels in each tertile were: Tertile 1 (mean = 2.0 µg/dL; range = 1.5–2.5 µg/dL) Tertile 2 (mean = 3.0 µg/dL; range = 2.6–3.5 µg/dL) and Tertile 3 (mean = 4.0 µg/dL, range of 3.6–4.5 µg/dL). Significant differences are indicated in bold. A P-trend value of < 0.05 indicates that the the observed trend is significant (increase or decrease of the micronutrient indicator across the T3 tertials) and was determined using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test