{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T05:36:04Z","timestamp":1791178564591,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2015,4,20]],"date-time":"2015-04-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1429488000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections and zinc deficiency are often found in low- and middle-income countries and are both known to affect child growth. However, studies combining data on zinc and STH are lacking. In two studies in schoolchildren in Cuba and Cambodia, we collected data on height, STH infection and zinc concentration in either plasma (Cambodia) or hair (Cuba). We analyzed whether STH and\/or zinc were associated with height for age z-scores and whether STH and zinc were associated.  In Cuba, STH prevalence was 8.4%; these were mainly Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections. In Cambodia, STH prevalence was 16.8%, mostly caused by hookworm. In Cuban children, STH infection had a strong association with height for age (aB-0.438,  p = 0.001), while hair zinc was significantly associated with height for age only in STH uninfected children. In Cambodian children, plasma zinc was associated with height for age  (aB-0.033, p = 0.029), but STH infection was not. Only in Cambodia, STH infection showed an association with zinc concentration (aB-0.233, p = 0.051). Factors influencing child growth differ between populations and may depend on prevalences of STH species and zinc deficiency. Further research is needed to elucidate these relationships and their underlying mechanisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu7043000","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,4,21]],"date-time":"2015-04-21T06:26:47Z","timestamp":1429597607000},"page":"3000-3010","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Height, Zinc and Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in Schoolchildren: A Study in Cuba and Cambodia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Brechje","family":"De Gier","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liliane","family":"Mpabanzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp 2000, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kim","family":"Vereecken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp 2000, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suzanne","family":"Van der Werff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patrick","family":"D'Haese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Pathophysiology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marion","family":"Fiorentino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, UMR-204 NutriPass IRD-UM-SupAgro,  Montpellier 34394, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kuong","family":"Khov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Fisheries Post-Harvest Technologies and Quality Control, Fisheries Administration, Phnom Penh 12301, Cambodia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marlene","family":"Perignon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, UMR-204 NutriPass IRD-UM-SupAgro,  Montpellier 34394, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chhoun","family":"Chamnan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Fisheries Post-Harvest Technologies and Quality Control, Fisheries Administration, Phnom Penh 12301, Cambodia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacques","family":"Berger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, UMR-204 NutriPass IRD-UM-SupAgro,  Montpellier 34394, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Megan","family":"Parker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PATH, Seattle WA 98109, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raquel","family":"D\u00edaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, Havana 10300, Cuba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fidel","family":"N\u00fa\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pedro Kour\u00ed Institute of Tropical Medicine, Havana 11400, Cuba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L\u00e1zara","family":"Rivero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pedro Kour\u00ed Institute of Tropical Medicine, Havana 11400, Cuba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariano","family":"Gorbea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, Havana 10300, Cuba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Colleen","family":"Doak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maiza","family":"Ponce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frank","family":"Wieringa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, UMR-204 NutriPass IRD-UM-SupAgro,  Montpellier 34394, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katja","family":"Polman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp 2000, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,4,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO Working Group (1986). 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