Serum Concentrations of Trace Elements in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

Introduction: Nutritional status of patients with inflammatory bowel disease is estimated to be lower than optimal. This study was designed to compare the serum level of some trace elements in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2015-2016, on 60 recently diagnosed UC patients (30 with active UC and 30 with inactive UC) who were recruited from registry of the Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Gorgan, Iran) through simple random sampling. Thirty healthy individuals were also recruited as controls. Demographic data and disease activity index were recorded through a checklist. Serum levels of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se) and magnesium (Mg) were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 at significance level of 0.05. Results: Mean serum level of Cu in the patients (0.75±0.25 mg/L) was significantly lower than in the controls (1.11±0.3 mg/L) (P=0001). Similarly, mean serum level of Mg in the patients (15.84±4.3 mg/L) was significantly lower than in the controls (19.48±15.7 mg/L) (P=0.001). Mean serum level of Se was slightly higher among the UC patients, while mean serum level of Zn was slightly lower in the UC patients compared with the controls. Conclusions: Our results show that UC patients have significantly lower Cu and Mg levels compared to healthy individuals. However, serum Zn and Se levels do not differ significantly between the UC patients and the control individuals. Further studies are required to confirm the results of this study.

Micronutrient deficiency among patients with ulcerative colitis

“…Our results showed a statistically significant result of magnesium at cutoff 1.8 or less in discriminating severe from mild to moderate UC cases with an AUC of 0.950 and p value of < 0.001 with sensitivity 100% and specificity 83.3%, while the serum levels of zinc, iron, and selenium, and copper were not associated with disease severity. Similarly, Joshaghani et al [18] showed that low serum magnesium level was seen in 80% of the patients with active UC, 66.7% of the patients with inactive UC and 40% of the healthy controls (P < 0.005). However, Kalantari et al [21] showed no significant correlation of magnesium with the disease activity.…”

“…This could be attributed to due to an elevation in ceruloplasmin level in response to inflammation. On the contrary, Joshaghani et al [18] found that the mean serum level of copper was significantly lower in the patients with active UC compared to the control subjects.…”

“…Zinc deficiency is not only explained by mucosal damage and malabsorption but also owing to poor nutritional support as a symptom of active disease. However, Joshaghani et al [18] showed serum zinc levels did not differ significantly between the UC patients and the healthy subjects.…”

“…This could be explained by poor nutritional support, reduced food intake due to anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dietary restrictions, and chronic diarrhea. However, Joshaghani et al [18] conducted a cross-sectional study on 60 recently diagnosed UC patients that showed no significant difference in selenium levels between the UC patients and the control subjects.…”

Micronutrients deficiency among ulcerative colitis patients

“…Justyna et al [28] conducted investigations on 60 UC patients and found that UC and healthy subjects had homogenous serum selenium levels. According to Joshaghani et al [29], low blood magnesium levels in active UC, inactive UC, and healthy control was 80%, 66.7%, and 40% respectively. Mohammadi et al [30] found insignificant association between disease activities and magnesium.…”