Abstract: Objective:To analyze the changes of serum zinc, iron and calcium in malnourished children and its clinical significance.Methods:A total of 5 806 malnourished children were treated in Hunan Children's Hospital from January to December of 2016, who were enrolled as the research subjects(malnutrition group),and these children were again divided into 3 groups according to the clinical manifestations: emaciation group(n＝619),growth retardation group(n＝3 918) and reduced body mass group(n＝1 269);another 7 395 healthy children were selected as the control group. The serum zinc, iron and calcium were determined in the two groups. Multi-factor Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors in malnourished children.Results:The level of serum zinc, iron and calcium of the emaciation group, growth retardation group and reduced body mass group was lower than that of control group with statistical difference(P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the level of serum zinc, iron and calcium among different types of malnutrition or different age groups or between boys and girls(P>0.05). Multi-factor regression analysis showed that the risk factors for emaciation children were family income, improper feeding and serum iron and zinc; the risk factors for grow-retarded children were the height of fathers and mothers, serum zinc and serum calcium; the risk factors for children with reduced body mass were family income, birth order and serum zinc.Conclusion:Child malnutrition is related to the low level of serum zinc, iron and calcium, and the determination of serum zinc, iron and calcium is of great significance.

Key words: Malnutrition, Zinc, Iron, Calcium, Children