Abstract
We sought to investigate the influence of serum zinc (Zn) concentration on sarcopenia in chronic liver diseases (CLDs, n = 372, median age = 65 years, 147 liver cirrhosis (LC) cases (39.5%)). Sarcopenia was defined by low grip strength and low skeletal muscle mass. Study subjects were divided into the following three groups (High-, Intermediate-, and Low-Zn groups) based on the baseline serum Zn level. The impacts of serum Zn concentration on sarcopenia were examined. The median (interquartile range) serum Zn concentration for all cases was 72.85 (63.7, 81.45) μg/dL. The proportions of sarcopenia in the High-Zn, Intermediate-Zn, and Low-Zn groups were 10.75% (10/93), 11.23% (21/187), and 27.17% (25/92), respectively (P = 0.9046 (High vs. Intermediate), P = 0.0007 (Intermediate vs. Low), P = 0.0044 (High vs. Low), overall P value = 0.0009). The median serum Zn concentrations in patients with sarcopenia, pre-sarcopenia, and control were 66.35, 73.1 and 73.8 μg/dL, respectively (P = 0.0234 (sarcopenia vs. pre-sarcopenia), P = 0.2116 (pre-sarcopenia vs. control), P = 0.0002 (sarcopenia vs. control), overall P value = 0.0016). In the multivariate analyses of factors linked to the presence of sarcopenia, Low-Zn was an independent predictor for all cases (P = 0.0236) and LC cases (P = 0.0082). In conclusion, Zn deficiency can be an independent predictor for sarcopenia in patients with CLDs.
Highlights
Zinc (Zn) is an important trace element that is needed for normal cell development, proliferation, and differentiation, and it is known to be crucial to ensure an appropriate immunological reaction, such as anti-inflammatory effects, anti-oxidant effects, or autophagy [1,2,3,4]
Zn deficiency can be an independent predictor for sarcopenia in patients with chronic liver diseases (CLDs)
Zn deficiency can cause a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, including appetite loss, body hair loss, impaired taste and smell, atrophy of testis, cerebral and immune dysfunction, and impairment of drug excretion ability, and they are frequently observed in chronic liver diseases (CLDs) as Zn homeostasis is primarily regulated in the liver [3,5,6,7,8,9]
Summary
Zinc (Zn) is an important trace element that is needed for normal cell development, proliferation, and differentiation, and it is known to be crucial to ensure an appropriate immunological reaction, such as anti-inflammatory effects, anti-oxidant effects, or autophagy [1,2,3,4]. Zn deficiency can cause a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, including appetite loss, body hair loss, impaired taste and smell, atrophy of testis, cerebral and immune dysfunction, and impairment of drug excretion ability, and they are frequently observed in chronic liver diseases (CLDs) as Zn homeostasis is primarily regulated in the liver [3,5,6,7,8,9]. Albumin synthesis disability can cause Zn deficiency in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) [3,10,11]. The degree of Zn deficiency is reported to correlate well with the severity of liver diseases [15]. Zn deficiency-related abnormalities may be covered by Zn supplementation [3,5,6,7,13]. Numerous clinical aspects of Zn deficiency have not yet been elucidated in CLD patients
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