Survey of Serum Iron, Zinc, and Copper Deficiency prevalence in urban and rural areas in Tehran district

In view of the importance of micronutrients in metabolism and their critical role in health improvement and due to the fact that no comprehensive information on biochemical status of micronutrients exists, this study was carried out to determine the deficiencies of serum iron, zinc and copper in Tehran district. 206 families including 612 subjects (320 subjects in the city and 292 subjects in villages), 265 males (43%) and 347 females (57%) aged 3 to 83 years and mean ± SD 39±19 years were randomly selected by cluster sampling. Individual questionnaires and demographic data were filled.Height and weight were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Then 10 ml of blood samples were collected and serum iron, zinc and copper assayed by atomic absorption spectrophotometery. The results showed that the micronutrients deficiency was highly prevalent in Tehran. Mean serum iron was 114±45 µg/dl. No differences existed in mean concentrations between urban and rural areas. Mean serum copper was higher in the city compared to the villages (75±27 VS 67±23 µg/dl) while mean serum zinc was higher in rural 140±36 compared to urban areas 101±33 µg/dl. No one had zinc deficiency in rural areas while 19% of the city dwellers were zinc deficient. Iron deficiency was higher in urban compared to rural areas (6% and 3%). Rural subjects were more deficient in copper (68%) compared to urban subjects (55%). Percentage of zinc deficiency in males and females were similar. Iron deficiency prevalence was lower, while copper deficiency was higher in females compared to males. Iron and zinc deficiency were higher in older subjects, whereas copper deficiency was more prevalent in younger people. Because of the high prevalence of the deficiencies of these micronutrients, further surveys in other districts and studies on the etiology and curative measures are recommended.