Infants and elderlies are susceptible to zinc deficiency

Abstract

The importance of zinc for human health has been recognized since the early 1960s, but today there is little concern about zinc deficiency in developed countries. In this study, we measured the zinc concentration in hair from 28,424 Japanese subjects (18,812 females and 9,612 males) and found that 1,754 subjects (6.17%) had zinc concentrations lower than 2 standard deviations (86.3 ppm) below the control reference range, which qualifies as zinc deficiency. In particular, a considerable proportion of elderlies and children (20% or more) were found to have marginal to severe zinc deficiency. A zinc concentration of 9.7 ppm was the lowest observed in a 51-year-old woman; this concentration was approximately 1/13 of the mean reference level. The prevalence of zinc deficiency in adults increased with aging to a maximum of 19.7% by the 8th decade of life, and decreased to 3.4% above 90-year-old. The proportion of zinc deficiency in infants 0–4 years was 36.5% in males and 47.3% in females; these percentages were higher than the maximum prevalence in elderly subjects. These findings suggest that infants and elderlies are prone to zinc deficiency and that intervention of zinc deficiency is necessary for normal human development, health and longevity.

Zinc status (intake and level) of healthy elderly individuals in Riyadh and its relationship to physical health and cognitive impairment

“…In the present study, zinc deficiency was significantly elevated of age in age both men and women (p ¼ 0.03), (p ¼ 0.02) respectively, these findings are consistent with Yasuda and Tsutsui suggested that the prevalence of zinc deficiency in adults increased with aging to a maximum of 19.7% by the 8th decade of life [35].…”

Zinc and skin biology

“…Even in developed countries, some populations such as vegetarians, alcoholics, pregnant women, infants, and the elderly, are at risk of Zn deficiency [30][31][32][33][34]. In the following sections, we discuss AE and other skin diseases associated with Zn deficiency, particularly those for which there is reliable evidence of association with Zn.…”

Correlation between hair zinc level and cognitive function in elderly population

“…14 Subjects with normal hair zinc levels were 58.6%, subjects with zinc deficiency were 32.8%, and subjects with high hair zinc levels were 8.6%. A research was conducted by Yasuda, et al 28 in the Japanese population aged 0-100 years old to determine zinc levels through hair specimens using the ICP-MS method. Reference to control of hair zinc levels in the study was 86.6-193 µg/gram hair (ppm).…”