Serum zinc levels lower in patients with CKD, on hemodialysis than controls
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Compared with healthy controls, patients with chronic kidney disease or on hemodialysis have lower serum zinc levels more frequently than reported in daily clinical practice, according to data published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition.
Further, researchers suggest that physicians measure zinc levels in patients more often.
“In the current study, we assessed the differences in serum zinc levels between healthy controls, CKD and hemodialysis (HD) patients. In addition, we assessed the differences in serum zinc pre- versus post-HD,” Anas Elgenidy, a faculty of medicine medical student at Cairo University in Egypt, and colleagues wrote. “Serum zinc levels in CKD and HD patients have been assessed in many studies. However, to the best of our knowledge, no other meta-analyses have investigated the effect of HD on serum zinc levels by comparing serum zinc levels with those in non-dialysis CKD patients, or by measurement of serum zinc before and after HD.”
In a meta-analysis of 42 studies, researchers evaluated 460 patients with CKD, 2,047 patients on HD and 1,654 control participants. All studies were observational or randomized trials that measured serum zinc levels in patients with CKD or on HD compared with healthy controls. Researchers conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of data.
Compared with the controls, patients with CKD and patients on HD showed lower serum zinc levels. However, researchers did not identify a significant difference in serum zinc levels between patients with CKD and patients on HD. Overall, the serum zinc levels before HD were significantly lower than those in patients after HD.
A subgroup analysis revealed serum zinc levels are significantly lower in adults with CKD or on hemodialysis compared with controls, whereas pediatric patients showed no significant difference in serum zinc levels between controls and patients with CKD.
“Zinc supplementation should be cautiously implemented, however, since higher doses of zinc were associated with copper deficiency, which in turn can induce erythropoietin-resistant anemia,” Elgenidy and colleagues wrote. “Our findings indicate significantly lower serum zinc levels in CKD and HD patients compared with healthy controls. An increase in frequency of serum zinc measurement in these patients might be beneficial.”
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