scholarly journals Indicators of zinc status at the population level: a review of the evidence

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (S3) ◽  
pp. S14-S23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind S. Gibson ◽  
Sonja Y. Hess ◽  
Christine Hotz ◽  
Kenneth H. Brown

The role of zinc deficiency as an important cause of morbidity and impaired linear growth has prompted the need to identify indicators of population zinc status. Three indicators have been recommended – prevalence of zinc intakes below the estimated average requirement (EAR), percentage with low serum zinc concentrations, and percentage of children aged < 5 years who are stunted. This review outlines steps to estimate the prevalence of inadequate intakes, and confirm their validity based on the EARs set by International Zinc Nutrition Collaborative Group. Next, the appropriateness of serum zinc as a biochemical marker for population zinc status is confirmed by a summary of: (a) the response of serum zinc concentrations to zinc intakes; (b) usefulness of serum zinc concentrations to predict functional responses to zinc interventions; (c) relationship between initial serum zinc and change in serum zinc in response to interventions. Height- or length-for-age was chosen as the best functional outcome after considering the responses of growth, infectious diseases (diarrhoea, pneumonia), and developmental outcomes in zinc supplementation trials and correlation studies. The potential of other zinc biomarkers such as zinc concentrations in hair, cells, zinc-metalloenzymes, and zinc-binding proteins, such as metallothionein, is also discussed. Molecular techniques employing reverse transcriptase (RT)-polymerase chain reaction to measure mRNA in metallothionein and ZIP1 transporter hold promise, as do kinetic markers such as exchangeable zinc pools (EZP) and plasma zinc turnover rates. More research is needed to establish the validity, specificity, sensitivity, and feasibility of these new biomarkers, especially in community-settings.

Scientifica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Rosa ◽  
Marcos de Sá Rego Fortes ◽  
Danielli B. de Mello

Objectives. To investigate the effects of distinct concurrent training (CT) protocols on zinc and cortisol concentrations and test the correlation between these blood variables.Methods. Samples of serum zinc and cortisol were assessed from 10 male subjects (27.1±4.8years old; BMI25.38±0.09) before and immediately after each study session: control (CS = no exercises), concurrent training 1 (CT1 = indoor cycling + strength training), and concurrent training 2 (CT2 = strength training + indoor cycle) with five days of interval between each.Results. There were no significant changes in zinc concentrations after the CS (Δ% = 8.45;p=0.07), CT1 (Δ% = 4.77;p=0.49), and CT2 (Δ% = −2.90;p=0.12) sessions. Cortisol levels showed significant decrease after CS (Δ% = −6.02;p=0.00), CT1 (Δ% = −26.32;p=0.02), and CT2 (Δ% = −33.57;p=0.05) sessions. There was a significant correlation between the variables only at CS (zinc post versus cortisol pre:r=0.82and cortisol post:r=0.82).Conclusions. CT decreases cortisol concentrations regardless of the sequence performed. No changes were found in zinc concentrations after the study sessions. The reduction in serum cortisol concentrations appear to occur by a mechanism independent of the zinc status.


1990 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 547-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Barry ◽  
P. W. N. Keeling ◽  
John Feely

1. The zinc status and drug-metabolizing ability of 15 patients with histologically diagnosed hepatic cirrhosis were studied. Zinc status was assessed using both serum and leucocyte zinc concentrations, and drug-metabolizing ability was assessed by antipyrine kinetics. 2. Patients with cirrhosis were found to have lower serum and leucocyte zinc concentrations when compared with a healthy control group. 3. Leucocyte zinc content and antipyrine clearance were correlated. Those patients with the lowest leucocyte zinc content had the greatest impairment of drug metabolism. Antipyrine elimination and serum zinc concentrations were not correlated. 4. Leucocyte zinc concentrations and antipyrine clearance were not influenced by the severity of liver dysfunction, as assessed by using the Child Turcotte classification. 5. These results suggest that tissue zinc depletion in some patients with hepatic cirrhosis may explain in part the impaired capacity to metabolize drugs.


Author(s):  
Helen F Goode ◽  
J Kelleher ◽  
B E Walker

It is doubtful if the measurement of plasma or serum zinc is of value in assessing zinc status. Leucocyte zinc has been suggested as an alternative since it may be representative of tissue zinc stores; but in many studies poorly defined cell populations make interpretation difficult. This paper describes detailed techniques for the isolation and analysis of pure populations of neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes. Zinc concentrations (± 1SD) in normal subjects were 1·;26 ± 0·;27 nmol/mg protein, 1·;85 ± 0·;32 nmol/mg protein and 2·;58 ±0·;65 nmol/mg protein in neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes respectively. Fasting caused a significant decrease in neutrophil and lymphocyte zinc, and an increase in monocyte zinc. Supplementation of zinc-replete subjects with 135 mg zinc/day for 3 weeks had no significant effect on cellular zinc concentrations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 927-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M McDonald ◽  
Parminder S Suchdev ◽  
Nancy F Krebs ◽  
Sonja Y Hess ◽  
K Ryan Wessells ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background The accurate estimation of zinc deficiency at the population level is important, as it guides the design, targeting, and evaluation of nutrition interventions. Plasma or serum zinc concentration (PZC) is recommended to estimate zinc nutritional status; however, concentrations may decrease in the presence of inflammation. Objectives We aimed to assess the relation between PZC and inflammation in preschool children (PSC; 6–59 mo) and nonpregnant women of reproductive age (WRA; 15–49 y), and to compare different inflammation adjustment approaches, if adjustment is warranted. Methods Cross-sectional data from 13 nationally representative surveys (18,859 PSC, 22,695 WRA) from the Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) project were analyzed. Correlation and decile analyses were conducted, and the following 3 adjustment methods were compared if a consistent negative association between PZC and C-reactive protein (CRP) or α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) was observed: 1) exclude individuals with CRP &gt; 5 mg/L or AGP &gt; 1 g/L; 2) apply arithmetic correction factors; and 3) use the BRINDA regression correction (RC) approach. Results In 6 of 12 PSC surveys, the estimated prevalence of zinc deficiency increased with increasing CRP deciles, and to a lesser extent, with increasing AGP deciles. In WRA, the association of PZC with CRP and AGP was weak and inconsistent. In the 6 PSC surveys in which adjustment methods were compared, application of RC reduced the estimated prevalence of zinc deficiency by a median of 11 (range: 4–18) percentage points, compared with the unadjusted prevalence. Conclusions Relations between PZC and inflammatory markers were inconsistent, suggesting that correlation and decile analyses should be conducted before applying any inflammation adjustments. In populations of PSC that exhibit a significant negative association between PZC and CRP or AGP, application of the RC approach is supported. At this time, there is insufficient evidence to warrant inflammation adjustment in WRA.


2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (3_suppl3) ◽  
pp. S403-S429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Y. Hess ◽  
Janet M. Peerson ◽  
Janet C. King ◽  
Kenneth H. Brown

Assessing the prevalence and severity of zinc deficiency in populations is critical to determine the need for and appropriate targeting of zinc intervention programs and to assess their effectiveness for improving the health and well-being of high-risk populations. However, there is very little information on the zinc status of populations worldwide due to the lack of consensus on appropriate biochemical indicators of zinc status. The objective of this review was to evaluate the use of serum zinc concentration as an indicator of population zinc status. We have reviewed the response of serum zinc concentration to dietary zinc restriction and zinc supplementation. In addition, we completed pooled analyses of nine zinc intervention trials in young children to assess the relations between serum zinc concentration of individuals before treatment and their responses to zinc supplementation. Also, in updated combined analyses of previously published data, we investigated the relation between the mean initial serum zinc concentration of a study population and their mean growth responses to zinc supplementation in randomized intervention trials among children. The results from depletion/repletion studies indicate that serum zinc concentrations respond appreciably to severe dietary zinc restriction, although there is considerable interindividual variation in these responses. There is also clear evidence that both individual and population mean serum zinc concentrations increase consistently during zinc supplementation, regardless of the initial level of serum zinc concentration. By contrast, an individual's serum zinc concentration does not reliably predict that person's response to zinc supplementation. Serum zinc concentration can be considered a useful biomarker of a population's risk of zinc deficiency and response to zinc interventions, although it may not be a reliable indicator of individual zinc status.


Author(s):  
Mamoru Sakurai ◽  
Junko Sasaki ◽  
Hirotsugu Suwanai ◽  
Jumpei Shikuma ◽  
Rokuro Ito ◽  
...  

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1375
Author(s):  
Xiao-Bing Liu ◽  
Jia-Xi Lu ◽  
Li-Juan Wang ◽  
Yi-Chun Hu ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
...  

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum zinc status of pregnant women in the China Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance (CACDNS) in 2015–2016. Methods: A total of 7147 apparently healthy pregnant women were randomly selected in 302 national monitoring sites. Information on age, race, residence region, education, pregnancy, and family income per annum was collected, and the concentration of serum zinc was determined. The evaluation of serum zinc status was further performed according to the recommendations by the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). Results: The median concentration of serum zinc was 858.9 μg/L with an interquartile range (IQR) of 712.9 μg/L and 1048.9 μg/L, while the overall prevalence of zinc deficiency was 3.5% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 3.0% and 3.9%. Serum zinc status of pregnant women changed greatly in the different categories, particular in pregnancy and family income per annum (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of zinc deficiency (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The lower prevalence of zinc deficiency generally indicated a better zinc status for pregnant women in the CACDNS in 2015–2016. However, a well-designed evaluation system of zinc status for pregnant women should be continually optimized and improved by inducing more parameters such as biochemical, dietary, or functional indicators.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Qianrang Zhu ◽  
Yue Dai ◽  
Jingxian Zhang ◽  
Wei Xie ◽  
Hui Zuo ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Zinc plays an important role in metabolic processes in human organisms and is indispensable in many enzymatic processes. To date, few studies have assessed the association between serum zinc and metabolic risk factors in children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to examine whether serum zinc concentrations was associated with metabolic risk factors in Chinese children and adolescents. Methods This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2016-2017 China National Nutrition and Health Surveillance for Children and Nursing in Jiangsu Province. A total of 3241 participants aged 6 -17years were included. Metabolic risk factors included fasting glucose (FG), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Data were analyzed using multivariable linear regression and generalized additive models, which were adjusted for age, gender, high sensitive C-reactive protein, estimated glomerular filtration rate, body mass index and region of residence, to assess the associations of serum zinc concentrations with metabolic risk factors. Results We observed a negative association between serum zinc concentrations and FG (coefficient = -0.532; 95% CI: -0.569, -0.495; p< 0.001). Moreover, TC (coefficient = 0.175 ; 95% CI 0.127, 0.222; p< 0.001), HDL-C (coefficient = 0.137 ; 95% CI 0.082, 0.193; p< 0.001) and LDL-C (coefficient = 0.195 ; 95% CI 0.128, 0.263; p< 0.001) were found to be positively associated with zinc levels. A generalized additive model showed that the negative association between serum zinc and FG was weak at lower serum zinc concentrations, and was stronger with the increase in serum zinc concentrations. Additionally, a U-shaped association between serum zinc and TG was observed. Conclusions Serum zinc concentrations were associated with FG, TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C levels in Chinese children and adolescents. Lower levels of serum zinc were more likely related to a poor metabolic status.


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