Study of serum zinc level in overt and subclinical hypothyroidism – A case control study

Introduction: Cutaneous viral warts are one of the common skin disorders in general population which can affect any age group and any gender in any country and pose a significant health problem. A possible association with zinc has been suggested in previous studies. Zinc is known to be required for efficient functioning of immune system. Objective: To find out the association between serum zinc level and cutaneous viral warts. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, total of hundred patients were enrolled. Among them 50 (males – 27, females – 23) with cutaneous viral warts were taken as cases and 50 (males – 25, females – 25) healthy individuals were taken as controls after matching the age and sex. The patients were selected from Dermatology outpatient Department of Universal College of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Bhairahawa, Nepal. The serum zinc level was measured using spectrophotometry principle. Results: The mean serum zinc level in the cases and controls were 80.50±37.24 mg/dl and 104.31±25.31 mg/dl respectively. Significant difference in serum zinc level was observed between cases and controls (p=0.0001). There was a strong association between low serum zinc level and cutaneous viral warts (OR=7.37; 95% CI=1.98 – 27.31; p=0.0028). Conclusion: Serum zinc level in patients with cutaneous viral warts was significantly low as compared to the healthy controls.

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Evaluation of Serum Zinc Concentration in Vitiligo, A Case-Control Study

10.1101/2020.09.16.20195677 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmed Abdul-Aziz Ahmed ◽

Hayder Saad Ahmed ◽

Ahmed Talib Abdulqader ◽

Wisam Suhail Najem

Keyword(s):

Rural Area ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Venous Blood ◽

Serum Zinc ◽

Zinc Level ◽

Case Control ◽

P Value ◽

Serum Zinc Level ◽

The Mean ◽

Control Study

AbstractBackgroundVitiligo is an acquired autoimmune pigmentary disorder characterized by ivory white patches. Zinc is proposed to have an immune modulatory, antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties in vitiligo patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum zinc in vitiligo patients.Patients and methodsThis is case–control study conducted from December 2019 to May 2020. The study included 50 patient with vitiligo and 50 age- and sex-matched controls. A 2 ml venous blood sample was taken from patients and controls by zinc-free syringe and was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry.ResultsThe mean serum zinc level was 73.14±19.32 in patients group and 85.36±14.14 in controls group (p-value=0.005). It also was 77.65±22.07 and 82.84±14.32 in male patients and controls, respectively. In female patients, it was 70.82±17.65and in female controls was 82.88±13.79(p-value=0.02). Regarding the residence, the mean serum zinc level in patients group was 70.13±21.4 in urban and 76.39±17.73 in rural area. In controls group, mean serum zinc was 83.25±14.12 and 89.11±13.77 in urban and rural area, respectively (p-value=0.003). According to the clinical patterns of vitiligo, the mean serum zinc observed was 75.32±19.64 in vitiligo vulgaris, 70.45±21.23 in acrofacial vitiligo and 68.7±17.61 in segmental vitiligo (p-value=0.68).ConclusionSerum zinc level was significantly low in patients with vitiligo but not associated with the type of vitiligo or family history of autoimmune diseases. It was even lower when vitiligo is associated with nail changes than vitiligo without any nail abnormalities.

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