Correlation between the Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Zinc Content in Adolescent Girls ’ Hair and Their Academic Records

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between school acade-mic records and the iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc content in adoles-cent girls ’ hair. Methods: The iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc content in hair samples from 148 adolescent girls was determined by atomic absorption spectrometer. Their academic records from 2 school semesters were interrelated. Results: There was a positive correlation between magnesium (r = 0.20; p = 0.016), and zinc (r = 0.31; p = 0.001) content in the hair and academic records. Conversely, the academic records had an inverse correlation with the potassi-um content (r =-0.23; p = 0.019). Conclusion: The content of magnesium, potassium, and zinc in adolescent girls ’ hair has a certain correlation with their learning performance. The exact effects of these three trace elements on adolescent learning performance warrants fur-ther study