MONDAY, Aug. 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For children younger than 5 years with sickle cell anemia, zinc supplementation at 20 mg per day is associated with a reduction in all-cause infection, according to a study published online Aug. 19 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Ruth Namazzi, from Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda, and colleagues examined the safety and effectiveness of daily zinc supplementation to prevent all-cause infection in a randomized trial involving children aged 1.00 to 4.99 years with sickle cell anemia in Uganda. A total of 100 participants were randomly assigned to receive zinc supplementation or placebo (50 each). Forty-five participants were receiving hydroxyurea at enrollment; after enrollment, all participants initiated or continued receiving hydroxyurea.
The researchers found complete ascertainment for all participants and no loss to follow-up during the six-month follow-up. There were 80 and 124 all-cause infections in the zinc and placebo groups, respectively, corresponding to a significantly lower infection rate in the zinc group (305.7 versus 480.7 infections per 100 person-years; incidence rate ratio after adjustment for baseline age, sex, and hydroxyurea use, 0.62). Neither group had any adverse events requiring discontinuation of the study intervention.
"If further studies confirm our latest research, this could be an important new intervention for children with sickle cell anemia that is so low-cost and safe that it's rapidly implementable in almost all health settings," lead author Chandy John, M.D., from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, said in a statement.
