Abstract
Blood was obtained from 564 11-yr-old children who had participated since birth in a multidisciplinary health and development study. Serum zinc concentration did not differ between the boys and the girls (mean _+ SD: 91 + 17 µg/100 mL, n = 453). Five-6% of serum zinc values were low; although there was a weak correlation with height, none of the boys with low values were below the 10th percentile for height for this group. Serum copper concentration (112 _+ 24 µg/100 mL, n = 454) was unrelated to sex, height, weight, body mass index, socioeconomic status (SES), or iron status. Blood selenium concentration (49 + 10 ng/mL, n = 564) was lower than previously reported for Dunedin children; it was higher in children in the lower SES categories. The data represent normal values for healthy, 11-yr-old NZ children.