Zinc Nutritional Status in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

• Published in: Nutrients 2019-01, Vol.11 (1), p.150
• Main Authors: Escobedo Monge, Marlene Fabiola, Barrado, Enrique, Alonso Vicente, Carmen, Redondo Del Río, María Paz, Marugán de Miguelsanz, José Manuel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Child; Chlorine; Chronic illnesses; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cystic fibrosis; Cystic Fibrosis - blood; Diet; Dietary intake; dietary zinc deficiency; dietary zinc intake; Disease; Energy intake; Enzymes; Female; Gene expression; Homeostasis; Humans; hypozincemia; Immune system; Kinases; Lung diseases; Male; Malnutrition - blood; marginal zinc deficiency; Metabolism; Morbidity; Mutation; Nutrient deficiency; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; Pediatrics; Prospective Studies; Proteins; Roles; serum zinc concentration; Trace elements; Wound healing; Young Adult; Zinc; Zinc - administration & dosage; Zinc - blood; Zinc - deficiency
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu11010150

Zinc is an essential nutrient for all forms of life and its deficiency affects the normal growth and development of human beings. The main aim was to investigate zinc nutritional status by serum zinc concentration (SZC) and dietary zinc intake and their association in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in CF patients. Anthropometric measurements and respiratory and pancreatic tests were conducted. Hypozincemia was determined by SZC while using atomic absorption spectrophotometry and dietary zinc deficiency by prospective 72-h dietary surveys. Mean SZC (87.2 ± 16.7 μg/dL) and dietary zinc intake (97 ± 26.9% Dietary Reference Intake) were normal. Three of 17 patients with CF (17.6%) had hypozincemia and four (23.5%) had a dietary zinc deficiency. No patient with dietary zinc deficiency had hypozincemia. A positive and significant association was observed between SZC and Z-score of BMI-for-age ( = 0.048) and weight-for-height ( = 0.012) and between dietary zinc intake and energy intake (EI, = 0.036) and Z-score of weight-for-high ( = 0.029). SZC was associated with the nutritional status, expressed as BMI (Body Mass Index) and weight-for-height Z score, and dietary zinc intake with EI and weight-for-height Z-score. No patient with hypozincemia had dietary zinc deficiency. This situation should alert us to a marginal zinc deficiency and it may explain why there were no overlapping cases between the two groups. We suggest that probably 41% of the cases in this study would be at elevated risk of zinc deficiency and a zinc supplementation may be considered.