No Association of Hair Zinc Concentration with Coronary Artery Disease Severity and No Relation with Acute Coronary Syndromes

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Although zinc (Zn) was reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and protective properties in CVDs, its association with coronary artery disease (CAD) is still unclear. As methods commonly used to assess Zn levels in blood and urine do not show the full picture of the microelement supply, in this study, the nutritional status of Zn in patients with angiographically confirmed CAD was assessed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. We found no association between Zn and the severity of CAD evaluated with the Coronary Artery Surgery Study Score (p = 0.67). There were no statistically significant differences in Zn levels between patients with acute coronary syndrome and those with stable CAD (p = 0.937). A statically significant negative correlation was observed between Zn content and serum triglyceride concentration (p < 0.05). Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were found to have a significantly lower hair Zn content compared to non-diabetic individuals (p < 0.01). The role of Zn in the pathogenesis of CAD and its complications need further well-designed research as the moderation and supplementation of Zn dietary intake could be a simple intervention to reduce the CVDs risk.

Investigation on the Association of Copper and Copper-to-Zinc-Ratio in Hair with Acute Coronary Syndrome Occurrence and Its Risk Factors

“…Taking into account inconclusive data on the influence of Cu on the cardiovascular system, the main objective of this research was to analyze the association between Cu content in hair and the occurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients with coronary artery disease (stable CAD vs. ACS subgroups). In a recent study, we did not find a significant correlation between the Zn content in the hair and the occurrence of ACS [ 38 ]. Therefore, the Cu/Zn-ratio in hair, which describes the balance between these two elements, was analyzed in a similar way to the Cu content.…”

“…Details on the study group are presented in Table 1 and in our previous study [ 38 ]. Differences in Cu and Cu/Zn-ratio between male and female patients, age, and BMI subgroups are presented in Figure 1 .…”

“…The final data set used in this investigation consisted of 133 patient cases (37 females), who underwent coronary angiography due to suspected ACS in outpatient care between 2013 and 2017 at Bielanski Hospital, Department of Cardiology (Warsaw, Poland). The same cohort was described elsewhere [ 38 ]. All patients were residents of Warsaw with no history of occupational exposure to chemical elements.…”

“…Furthermore, the correlation between the aforementioned factors in hair and selected known risk factors for CAD was also investigated. This research paper and the study on the Zn content in hair and CAD [ 38 ] are parts of the project on the relationship between the content of microelements in hair and various aspects of this disease.…”

Investigating the Role of Zinc in Atherosclerosis: A Review

“…Several studies focusing on zinc and vascular physiology indicated an inverse relationship between dietary zinc intake and carotid intima-media thickness [ 203 , 204 ] or aortic calcification [ 205 ]. A recent study conducted by Dziedzic et al [ 206 ] measured the zinc level of hair samples from 133 CAD patients that were evaluated by angiography. A lower level of zinc was detected in the hair of patients with T2DM and high serum TG concentration.…”