Health Technology Research in Brazil
Anais Online do "Health Technology Research in Brazil: Challenges for the New Decade"

One of the main challenges for modern health systems is to guarantee equitable access to technologies with proven quality, safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness, as well as to ensure that their use is based on high-quality scientific evidence. Health technology assessment (HTA) is one of the most widely used strategies in the world to support decisions on health technologies. The objective of this study was to evaluate nutritional level of zinc considering zinc serum levels and dietary intake of this micronutrient in children and adolescents with Down syndrome, it is the most common chromosomal condition in Brazil, and represents the genetics anomaly with the highest prevalence in pediatrics. Higher incidence of several clinical complications and higher prevalence of mineral and vitamin deficiencies have been observed in children with Down syndrome. One of them, zinc is an essential micronutrient for human nutrition and health. However, little is known about the magnitude of this deficiency in children with Down syndrome in Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional clinical study was conducted, approved by the Research Ethics Committee. All children who underwent follow up at the Genetics Child Care outpatient ward of the University Hospital were eligible. Data were collected in 2017 and 2018. Dietary recall was taken and blood collection was performed for lab evaluation of serum zinc level of all participants. Values of serum zinc lower than 65 μg/dL were considered as deficiency. Results: A total of 37 children with DS were included. The analysis of serum zinc levels showed deficiency in 94.3% of the children, the mean zinc serum level was 50.40 μg/dL, median was 49.24 μg/dL (sd =10.1μg/dL). Only 5.4% of children presented deficiency in dietary intake of zinc. We concluded that incidence of inadequate zinc nutritional status in children with and vitamin deficiencies have been observed in children with Down was high. The results suggest that planning the incorporation of technologies and treatment with zinc supplementation for all children with Down syndrome may be interesting for their health.
Palavras chave: Biomedical Technology Assessment, Down syndrome, Children, Public Health system.

Financiamento:
Fapesp – Fundação de Amparo a pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.
PROPE- Pro-reitoria de pesquisa- UNESP