Table 3.
Effect of zinc supplementation on febrile episodes of falciparum malaria and other causes of morbidity
| Morbidity | Zinc group | Placebo group | Relative risk (95% CI)† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Febrile episodes* | (No of children) | |||
| No of episodes with parasite density ⩾1/μl: | ||||
| 0 | 26 | 44 | 0.99 (0.89 to 1.11) | |
| 1 | 116 | 98 | ||
| 2 | 128 | 115 | ||
| 3 | 51 | 69 | ||
| 4 | 19 | 17 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| No of episodes with parasite density ⩾5000/μl: | ||||
| 0 | 69 | 78 | 0.98 (0.86 to 1.11) | |
| 1 | 138 | 133 | ||
| 2 | 104 | 92 | ||
| 3 | 24 | 30 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 0 | ||
| No of episodes with parasite density ⩾100 000/μl: | ||||
| 0 | 306 | 310 | 1.0 (0.64 to 1.6) | |
| 1 | 34 | 33 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Reported symptoms | (child days) | |||
| Fever | 2133 | 2095 | 1.01 (0.95 to 1.07) | |
| Cough | 1006 | 949 | 1.05 (0.97 to 1.15) | |
| Diarrhoea | 869 | 997 | 0.87 (0.79 to 0.95)‡ | |
Observation time was 49 086 child days for zinc group and 49 021 child days for placebo group; for analysis of incidence of falciparum malaria, children were removed from numerator and denominator for 20 days after malaria episode.
*
Temperature ⩾37.5°C and specified parasite density.
†
Based on Poisson regression model.
‡
P=0.002.