Zinc intake and status in middle-aged and older European subjects: the ZENITH study

Abstract

Objective: Inadequate intakes of micronutrients in elderly negatively affect the nutritional status. Zinc is an essential micronutrient in the elderly, especially in relation to its impact on immune function, bone mass, cognitive function and oxidative stress. However, data are lacking on zinc intake and status during normal ageing. In this study, we evaluate the intake and status of zinc in late middle-aged and older free-living subjects. Design: Dietary zinc intake and zinc status in 188 middle-aged subjects from Clermont-Ferrand (Fr) and Coleraine (UK), and in 199 older subjects from Grenoble (Fr) and Roma (It) were assessed at the entry in the ZENITH study. Results: In relation to the zinc RDA for people older than 55 y, zinc intakes in most of the middle-aged and older subjects (more than 96%) in the present study were adequate. Older people had significantly lower (Po0.01) energy intakes as compared to middle-aged. Zinc intake expressed per MJ was also significantly (Po0.01) higher in older people compared to middle-aged. Erythrocyte and urinary zinc concentrations were significantly (Po0.001) higher in middle-aged subjects compared to older ones. The prevalence of biological Zn deficiency in free-living ageing European people was low (o5%). Conclusion:The results of the present study showed a relatively low prevalence of zinc deficiencies in healthy free-living late middle-age and older subjects. These results should be useful for health professionals to have reference data on zinc intake and status for a healthy ageing.

Determinants of serum zinc concentrations in a population of French middle-age subjects (SU.VI.MAX cohort)

“…In SU.VI.MAX, the average serum zinc concentrations of men and women were close to those obtained from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the United States (Mares-Perlman et al, 1995; The Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group, 2002;Hotz et al, 2003) and from European studies in middle-age and/or senior healthy subjects (Andriollo-Sanchez et al, 2005;Marcellini et al, 2006). Our results show that serum zinc concentration is significantly lower in women compared with men.…”

“…Serum zinc concentration significantly decreased in fasting US men after 60 years whereas a tendency to increase was noted from 40 to 65 years in fasting US women. These variations remained moderate as previously described in free-living population (Savarino et al, 2001;Andriollo-Sanchez et al, 2005) in contrast to the dramatic decrease in serum zinc concentration observed in institutionalized elderly (Pepersack et al, 2001). The lower values in non-menopausal women taking oral contraceptive was also confirmed (Hotz et al, 2003;Akhter et al, 2005;Fallah et al, 2009), which suggests that gender differences could be partly attributed to hormonal status and/or contraceptive steroids intake.…”

The relationship between the zinc nutritive status and biochemical markers of bone turnover in older European adults: the ZENITH study

“…The indices of zinc nutritive status (namely, zinc intake and biochemical status measures) in the older European adults in the present study, as discussed in more detail by Andriollo-Sanchez et al (2005), were, in general, relatively good and there was a low prevalence of zinc deficiency (B5-6%) in this population. Zinc intake was positively correlated with urinary zinc as well as with serum zinc levels.…”

Positive and negative mood in the elderly: the ZENITH study

“…Andriollo-Sanchez et al (2005), in this Supplement, have shown that Zn status among the samples here are all within normal ranges. Findings in this area have pinpointed noticeable depletions in Zn during extreme poor moods of depression (Maes et al, 1997).…”