Abstract

Objectives: There is increasing evidence on association between lowzinc (Zn) status and osteoporosis, but the impact of zinc status as a risk of osteoporosis has not been reported. The aim of the study was to measure the concentration of serum zinc in patients with osteoporosis, and to ascertain the impact of zinc status on bone mineral density. Methods: Serum concentration of Zinc and anthropometric parameters (age, gender, and body mass index) were measured in 55 apparently healthy subjects and 200 patients completed bone mineral density (BMD)measurements of the hip area and the limber spine using the dual energy x-ray absorbtiometry(DEXA) scan. Osteoporosis was defined as a BMD>2.5 SDs below the mean of young subjects (a T-score < -2.5). Results: Significantly lower zinc concentrations (p=0.001), together with higher prevalence of hypozincemia(p=0.01) were found in patients with osteoporosis than in both osteopenic patients and healthysubjects. There was no statistically significant difference observed between the osteopenic and healthy subjects with respect to zinc levels. In the osteoporosis group, a positive correlations of zinc was observed with BMD(p<0.001) and a negative correlation was observed with age (p=0.01). Conclusion: The low zinc status in conjunction with abnormal BMD may be strongly associated with osteoporosis in the studied patients. It thus indicates the need for the effectiveness of zinc supplements to patients with osteoporosis.

Authors and Affiliations