Zinc-AA Supplementation During Pregnancy & Lactation to Assess Effects on ASD Prevalence in Offspring

Autism and associated entities, grouped under the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is the fastest growing intellectual disability in the world, statistics signal for a 1 to 3% prevalence on infants. The cause is unknown, although some data suggest that zinc deficiency during pregnancy may have an important role in its presentation. This study seeks to supplement the nutrition of randomly selected prospective and actually pregnant women with a zinc-Amino-acid complex (Zn-AA), during pregnancy and early lactation, and compare the rate of ASD in their offspring with the rate in a similar and also randomly selected cohort of non supplemented women, to assess if Zn-AA supplementation during pregnancy has any effect on this outcome