Abstract
BackgroundPatients with chondrocalcinosis may suffer from a series of symptoms resembling acute gouty arthritis or septic arthritis, but the aetiology and pathogenesis of chondrocalcinosis have not been fully elucidated yet. This study was aimed to assess serum zinc and copper concentrations, as well as the ratio of serum copper to zinc concentrations (Cu/Zn ratio), in relation to the prevalence of knee chondrocalcinosis.MethodsData included in this analysis were retrieved from a large population-based cross-sectional study. A bilateral knee anteroposterior radiograph was obtained from each subject. Radiographic knee chondrocalcinosis was diagnosed if definite linear cartilage calcification was detected. Serum zinc and copper concentrations were measured using the spectrophotometric flow injection methods by Roche modular P800. The relations of serum zinc and copper concentrations and Cu/Zn ratio to the prevalence of knee chondrocalcinosis were examined using generalized estimating equations, respectively.ResultsThe prevalence of knee chondrocalcinosis was 1.2% in the sample of this study (n = 12,362). In comparison with the lowest tertile, the odds ratios (ORs) of knee chondrocalcinosis adjusted by age, sex and body mass index were 0.74 (95% CI 0.50–1.09) in the second and 0.56 (95% CI 0.36–0.86) in the third tertiles of serum zinc concentrations (P for trend = 0.009), were 1.26 (95% CI 0.77–2.05) in the second and 2.01 (95% CI 1.25–3.24) in the third tertile of serum copper concentrations (P for trend = 0.003), and were 1.02 (95% CI 0.61–1.69) in the second and 2.23 (95% CI 1.38–3.59) in the third tertile of Cu/Zn ratio (P for trend < 0.001) respectively. These findings were not materially altered by adjustment for potential confounders.ConclusionsThe present study observed that higher serum zinc concentrations, lower serum copper concentrations or lower Cu/Zn ratio are associated with a lower prevalence of knee chondrocalcinosis in a dose-response relationship manner.
Highlights
Patients with chondrocalcinosis may suffer from a series of symptoms resembling acute gouty arthritis or septic arthritis, but the aetiology and pathogenesis of chondrocalcinosis have not been fully elucidated yet
Patients with chondrocalcinosis may suffer from fever, joint pain and a series of other clinical symptoms that are similar to acute gouty arthritis or septic arthritis and chronic symptoms resembling osteoarthritis, which all contributes to a compromised quality of life and a worsened comorbidity [4,5,6,7,8]
Previous studies have reported that many common diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, vitiligo and multiple sclerosis were associated with lower zinc concentrations and higher copper concentrations, of which the underlying mechanisms were suspected to be attributed to immune function, inflammatory response and oxidative stress [15,16,17,18,19,20]
Summary
Patients with chondrocalcinosis may suffer from a series of symptoms resembling acute gouty arthritis or septic arthritis, but the aetiology and pathogenesis of chondrocalcinosis have not been fully elucidated yet. Previous studies suggested that calculating the ratio of serum copper to zinc concentrations, hereafter referred to as Cu/Zn ratio, provided valuable information in regard to oxidative stress and inflammatory responses [21]. Due to the essential role of inflammatory response in the pathogenesis of chondrocalcinosis [22, 23], it was postulated that there might be a potential link between the serum zinc and copper concentrations, as well as Cu/Zn ratio, and the prevalence of chondrocalcinosis. To our best knowledge, no study has been performed to investigate these correlations yet
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