[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Health See other Health Articles Title: Zinc Status May Affect Mental Health of Nursing Home Residents Medscape... NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In nursing home residents, mental function may be linked to serum zinc levels, researchers in Poland say. Renata Markiewicz-Zukowska of the Medical University of Bialystok and colleagues analyzed data on 100 residents, ages 60 to 102, at a nursing home in Bialystok. They evaluated zinc status by determining serum concentration and used standard tests to measure physical and mental function. Serum zinc concentrations ranged from 0.43 mg/L to 1.39 mg/L, with a mean of 0.83 mg/L. Overall, 28% of residents had a zinc deficiency, considered to be <0.7 mg/L. Close to two-thirds of study participants had at least three diagnosed diseases, and 95% were taking at least one medication. Serum zinc concentration was correlated with mental status, with significantly higher concentrations in older individuals with normal cognition and without depression, compared to residents with memory impairment and signs of depression. Specifically, serum zinc concentrations averaged 0.89 mg/L in individuals with unimpaired cognitive function, compared to 0.76 mg/L in with individuals with impaired memory (p=0.001). Individuals with depression had lower zinc levels than individuals without depression, but zinc concentrations had no effect of depression intensity. Zinc concentration was below normal in only 17% of the participants under age 70, but in 43% of those older than 80, the authors reported January 30 in PLoS One. "Since depression is a common health problem in old age, with prevalence rates of up to 46% in institutionalized older people, there is a need for early diagnosis and treatment, which may contribute to improving their quality of life," the researchers write. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that attempts to find a relationship between the (zinc) status and the mental and physical health in that population," they add. They conclude, "Our findings highlight the desirability of monitoring the concentration of (zinc) in serum of older people." This research was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Education. The authors report no disclosures. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1z6l8Hp PLoS One 2015. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||