Before treatment, concentrations of hair zinc in 41.6% of subjects and serum ferritin in 50% were consistent with the presence of zinc deficiency. The greater efficacy of the zinc and micronutrients treatment compared with micronutrients alone supports this interpretation.

The objective of this study was to measure relationships between plasma zinc (Zn) concentrations and Zn kinetic parameters and to measure relationships of Zn status with taste acuity, food frequency, and hair Zn in humans. The subjects were 33 premenopausal women not taking oral contraceptives and dietary supplements containing iron and Zn. Main outcomes were plasma Zn concentrations, Zn kinetic parameters based on the three-compartment mammillary model using 67Zn as a tracer, electrical taste detection thresholds, and food frequencies. Lower plasma Zn was significantly (P < 0.01) associated with smaller sizes of the central and the lesser peripheral Zn pools, faster disappearance of tracer from plasma, and higher transfer rate constants from the lesser peripheral pool to the central pool and from the central pool to the greater peripheral pool. The break points in the plasma Zn-Zn kinetics relationship were found between 9.94 and 11.5 micromol/l plasma Zn. Smaller size of the lesser peripheral pool was associated with lower frequency of beef consumption and higher frequency of bran breakfast cereal consumption. Hypozincemic women with plasma Zn <10.7 micromol/l or 700 ng/ml had decreased thresholds of electrical stimulation for gustatory nerves. Our results based on Zn kinetics support the conventional cutoff value of plasma Zn (10.7 micromol/l or 700 ng/ml) between normal and low Zn status.

The simultaneous occurrence of Zn and Fe deficiencies in man has been known since the discovery of human Zn deficiency. However, it is not established that low Fe stores per se or Fe-deficiency anaemia infer low Zn status. Therefore our objective was to identify relationships between Zn and Fe status in premenopausal women without anaemia. We also examined the contribution of food frequencies and blood loss to Zn and Fe status. The subjects were thirty-three apparently healthy premenopausal women without anaemia, who were not taking dietary supplements containing Zn or Fe or oral contraceptives. Main outcomes were Zn kinetic parameters based on the three-compartment mammillary model and serum ferritin (SF) concentration; contributing factors were the frequency of consumption of specific foods and menorrhagia. Lower SF was significantly associated with smaller sizes of Zn pools. The breakpoint in the relationship between SF and the lesser peripheral Zn pool was found to be 21·0 mg SF/l. SF also correlated positively with frequency of beef consumption and negatively with bleeding through menstrual pads (BTMP). Similar to SF, the Zn pool sizes correlated positively with frequency of beef consumption, and negatively with BTMP. In summary, Zn pool sizes and Fe stores were highly correlated in premenopausal women. SF concentrations , 20 mg/l suggest an increased likelihood of low Zn status.Exchangeable zinc pool: Serum ferritin: Premenopausal women