Assessment of Serum Zinc Levels of Patients with Thalassemia Compared to Their Siblings

Abstract

Zinc (Zn) is essential for appropriate growth and proper immune function, both of which may be impaired in thalassemia children. Factors that can affect serum Zn levels in these patients may be related to their disease or treatment or nutritional causes. We assessed the serum Zn levels of children with thalassemia paired with a sibling. Zn levels were obtained from 30 children in Islamabad, Pakistan. Serum Zn levels and anthropometric data measures were compared among siblings. Thalassemia patients' median age was 4.5 years (range 1–10.6 years) and siblings was 7.8 years (range 1.1–17 years). The median serum Zn levels for both groups were within normal range: 100 μg/dL (10 μg/dL–297 μg/dL) for patients and 92 μg/dL (13 μg/dL–212 μg/dL) for siblings. There was no significant difference between the two groups. Patients' serum Zn values correlated positively with their corresponding siblings (r = 0.635, P < 0.001). There were no correlations between patients' Zn levels, height for age Z-scores, serum ferritin levels, chelation, or blood counts (including both total leukocyte and absolute lymphocyte counts). Patients' serum Zn values correlated with their siblings' values. In this study, patients with thalassemia do not seem to have disease-related Zn deficiency.

Mineral Levels in Thalassaemia Major Patients Using Different Iron Chelators

“…5 Iron levels of the control and the thalassemia major patient groups (deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP) and deferasirox (DFX)). Bars represent mean ± standard deviation a correlation in zinc level between TM patients and their siblings as mentioned before [7]. Others showed no mineral deficiency in TM patients [14,16].…”

“…Most of the patients had used zinc when they were giving the blood sample for the current study. A prospective study was performed to determine the zinc level in thalassaemia patients and their siblings [7]. That study revealed that patients' serum Zn values correlated with their siblings', and they suggested that serum Zn levels are possibly more influenced by familial and environmental factors rather than by thalassaemia.…”

“…Zinc (Zn) is a structural element of many proteins. It is known that zinc is essential for growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor in the body [7]. Copper (Cu) is an essential mineral for cellular physiology with many key roles in antioxidant activity.…”

Anthropometric measurements in children having transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia

“…Physical growth is relatively normal up until 9-10 years of age but the majority of thalassemia patients fail to achieve the same final height as their normal peers [4]. Growth retardation in thalassemia is a well-observed phenomenon with a frequency between 25-66% globally [3,[5][6][7][8] and 20-57% nationally [9][10][11]. Growth retardation is multifactorial and the etiology varies with age.…”

Status of trace elements zinc, copper, and selenium in transfusion dependent beta thalassemic Indian children: a cross sectional study

“…Previous studies have compared the serum zinc level in thalassmics and their control population but results are conflicting; serum zinc level were comparable in both the thalassmics and their siblings in Pakistani children (median serum zinc level -1000 vs 920 µ gm/l vs respectively) lower in thalassmics in comparison to control. 14 In Egypt and Iraq (882.8±177.6 vs 1135±153.9 and 386.5±202.5 vs 964.4±276.3 µgm /l respectively) and were higher in thalassemics in comparison to control in Jordan (2208±113 vs 1053±120.1 µ gm/l respectively). 5,15,16 In the present cohort median serum zinc level was found to be 924.85 µ gm/l.…”