Is Zinc Deficiency a Risk Factor of Infection in Elderly? A Pilot Study

Background & Aims : Zinc (Zn) deficiency cause a variety of disorders including dermatological, neurological and immunologic abnormalities.Methods : To investigate the relation between serum levels of Zn ion and suppression of protective immunity, we measured the levels of Zn of 10 elderly patients with repeated infections (group 1), and compared with those of other 10 elderly without infections (group 2).Results and conclusions : The levels of serum Zn in group 1 were higher than those in group 2 (58.0±5.2μg/dl vs. 72.3±4.1μg/dl, P=0.0375 ; n=10, 10, respectively). Our result suggested that Zn deficiency might be a risk factor of infections in elderly.