slamming the zinc reference range

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jimmylegs
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slamming the zinc reference range

Post by jimmylegs »

they say zinc just gradually 'gets lower' as part of the aging process. but what does that mean exactly? lower than what? how do we know when to take action?

to my mind, zinc (and other) 'normal' ranges are massively and ultimately unethically deceptive

case in point. here is a selection of zinc reference or normal ranges

Zinc, Serum
https://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com ... etive/8620
Normal serum zinc is 0.66 to 1.10 mcg/mL......................................(aka 66-110 μg/dl)

Pediatric reference intervals for serum copper and zinc
Based on the central 95% ... the resulting reference interval determined for serum zinc was
................................................................................................64-124 μg/dl

(central 95% of course referring to the bell curve, so we are not seeing absolute highest and lowest values obtained)
Image

local labs i've encountered here and elsewhere:

..................................................................11.5-18.5 μmol/L.......(75 - 121 μg/dl)

...............................................................10-20 μmol/L...............(65 - 131 μg/dl)

in research:

Determination of Serum Zinc Concentrations in Normal Adult Subjects ...
https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/57/4/506/1770331

'healthy young men'............................................serum mean 102, range 68-136 ug/dl

interesting contrasts:

Reference range of zinc in adult population (20-29 years) of Lahore, Pakistan
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4048503/

healthy individuals:..............serum mean 24, range 11.5-36.7 µmol/L (157, 75 - 240 μg/dl)
males:..............................serum mean 22, range 11.9-32.4 µmol/L (144, 78 - 212 μg/dl)
females:.............................serum mean 22, range 9.9-36.9 µmol/L (144, 65 - 241 μg/dl)

Reference values for serum zinc concentration and prevalence of zinc deficiency in adult Iranian subjects.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22592845
men...........................................................9.6 - 31.6 μmol/L........(63 - 207 μg/dl)
women.......................................................8.9 - 29.9 μmol/L.........(58 - 195 μg/dl)
total population...........................................9.3 - 30.8 μmol/L..........(61 - 201 μg/dl)

(and recall, based on that central 95% idea, we are not seeing the very highest or lowest levels identified in these groups)

Serum Zinc and Copper Status in Hospitalized vs. Healthy Elderly Subjects
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1 ... 7.10719643
(you can download a pdf via researchgate)

this study's cutoff to establish low zinc status................ 0.70 mg/L (aka <70 μg/dl)

next, serum mean zinc levels in study subjects:

healthy elderly controls...........................................1.10 mg/L (aka 110 μg/dl);..........0% below 70 μg/dl
hospitalized group...................................................0.87 mg/L (aka 87 μg/dl);...............only 20% below 70 μg/dl
(clearly this cutoff leaves something to be desired)

nervous system disease ............................................94 μg/dl; 6% below 70 μg/dl
mental disturbance .................................................90 μg/dl; 13% below 70 μg/dl
cancers .................................................................89 μg/dl; 26% below 70 μg/dl
undefined symptoms .................................................88 μg/dl; 15% below 70 μg/dl
digestive diseases ....................................................88 μg/dl; 19% below 70 μg/dl
osteo-muscular disease ..............................................87 μg/dl; 14% below 70 μg/dl
endocrine/metabolic disease .......................................87 μg/dl; 19% below 70 μg/dl
infectious disease ...................................................87 μg/dl; 21% below 70 μg/dl
blood disease ..........................................................87 μg/dl; 24% below 70 μg/dl
cardiovascular disease ..............................................86 μg/dl; 19% below 70 μg/dl
genitourinary disease.................................................84 μg/dl; 21% below 70 μg/dl
trauma..................................................................81 μg/dl; 27% below 70 μg/dl
respiratory disease....................................................80 μg/dl; 36% below 70 μg/dl

takeaway points:

every single mean serum zinc level shown above, whether for healthy controls or across the entire spectrum of diseased and hospitalized patients, is technically 'normal'. *not*. *one*. serum mean zinc level reported for any patient/hospitalized subject comes in below the bottom of the listed reference ranges. that means no red flag if you request serum zinc test at the neighbourhood lab. you *must know* going in, the implications of results found inside the reference range.

70 μg/dl is not a beneficial cutoff to use when evaluating low or normal serum zinc in health vs disease

yes, when i gun for serum zinc ~ 120 μg/dl it can sound high, but it's well within 9 out of the 10 ranges shown above, and distinctly *outside* the patient ballpark. in some groups studied above, 'normal' serum zinc can exceed 200 μg/dl!

so to answer my own original question, what i am taking away from this personally, is that i'll accept a naturally healthy aging serum zinc decline to the ~ 110 μg/dl neighbourhood, but no lower.

question: where do *you* fit in?
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jimmylegs
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

Post by jimmylegs »

update. as of last bloodwork, i fit in at 68 ug/d. guess what, no red flag from the local lab or the doc, because according to their ridiculous lower cutoff (50!?!) my level is 'normal'. FFS. i'm taking extra zinc for a month, by which time i had better be in the 110-120 ballpark.
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THX1138
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

Post by THX1138 »

jimmylegs wrote:update. as of last bloodwork, i fit in at 68 ug/d. guess what, no red flag from the local lab or the doc, because according to their ridiculous lower cutoff (50!?!) my level is 'normal'. FFS. i'm taking extra zinc for a month, by which time i had better be in the 110-120 ballpark.
I would guess that there must be a lot of unhealthy people out there. But, if that's common, then it must be a good thing/normal. :roll:
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jimmylegs
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

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yep. the stupidest kind of keeping up with the joneses.

"so you say cancer, a top killer in our society, goes out of its way to keep zinc away from itself? no problem, those low yet statistically 'normal' levels are AWESOME!! carry on!"
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THX1138
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

Post by THX1138 »

Precisely how are the "normal" ranges or "reference ranges" determined :?:
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jimmylegs
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

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short answer, it depends. and see central 95% above.

long answer

Establishing Reference Intervals for Clinical Laboratory Test Results: Is There a Better Way?
https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/133/2/180/1760481
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

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interesting, patient levels low and controls lower still :S

Association of zinc level and polymorphism in MMP-7 gene with prostate cancer in Polish population
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... ne.0201065
"The mean Zn level was significantly higher in the group of prostate cancer patients compared to the cancer-free controls (898.9±12.01 μg/l vs 856.6±13.05 μg/l, p<0.01). Analysis in quartiles demonstrated that Zn levels were associated with prostate cancer incidence. Odds ratios in 3 quartiles (>753.9–853.0, >853.0–973.9 and >973.9 μg/l) were significantly higher compared to the lowest quartile (<753.9 μg/l) (S2 Table, S1 Fig)."

placed in context with the above, looks suggestive of a 'cancer zone' within the serum zinc reference range. not on the ms track, but i am more than usually distracted by cancer lit at present. would be interesting if they'd also looked at serum copper.
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Re: slamming the zinc reference range

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well i was looking up diaper rash but ok :O patients and controls, once again both 'normal'

Zinc status in women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (1986)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 7886903558

'...significantly lower level of plasma zinc in women with recurrent vaginal candidiasis (81 + 11.6 mg/dl) than in the control subjects (91 ± 14.2 mg/dl) with a significant value of p = 0.015.'
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