Study: Zinc Deficiency Contributes To Chronic Inflammation Among HIV-Positive Patients

Zinc deficiency is a risk factor in causing diseases and it will be worse among HIV patients. According to a new study, zinc deficiency may worsen inflammation among HIV-positive individuals.

What Is Zinc Deficiency?

According to Dr. Axe, zinc deficiency ranks the fifth leading risk for causing diseases worldwide. In fact, underdeveloped countries suffer from high mortality rates due to zinc deficiency, which is associated with diarrhea and pneumonia.

Zinc deficiency is a serious health problem because 176,000 diarrhea deaths, 406,000 pneumonia deaths and 207,000 malaria deaths are blamed to it. Zinc is an essential element that one needs to be alive, that's why everyone requires regular zinc intake.

Zinc Deficiency Worsens Inflammation Among HIV-Positive

According to Krishna Poudel, there is a significant relationship between serum zinc concentration and serum C-reactive (CRP) concentration in HIV-positive individuals. A higher level of zinc was associated with lower CRP levels. CRP is a biomarker of inflammation that has been associated with several parameters of HIV disease progression. It is also an independent survival predictor, Science Daily reported.

"The fact that several studies have suggested that zinc might be something important for us to be aware of led us to analyze this micronutrient in HIV-positive patients," Poudel said. "We hypothesized that lower concentrations of serum zinc would be associated with increased CRP concentrations in HIV-positive individuals, taking into account of ART."

Study Details

Poudel and her colleagues studied 322 HIV-positive individuals. They conducted a cross-sectional survey among 311 participants and measured their serum and zinc CRP concentrations through questionnaires, in-person interviews, blood samples and food tables to estimate dietary zinc intake and CRP levels.

They used linear regression statistical analysis and adjust it for demographic, lifestyle and HIV-clinical factors. They learned that CRP concentration is inversely proportional to serum zinc concentration. CRP concentration significantly decreases when zinc concentration increased. The authors hope that when this study is confirmed, this can help reduce inflammation among HIV-positive individuals and improve their health and quality of life.

Japan's National Center for Global Health and Medicine, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and that country's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.