Zinc Deficiency in First Year Female Students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Objective: Zinc deficiency is an important health problem in developing countries. The aim of this study was diagnosis of zinc deficiency among young female students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and methods: This cross sectional study evaluated 420 medical and paramedical students of Tehran University in 2005. All of them were female and in the first year of their education. Serum concentrations of zinc were measured by enzymatic method students in whom had sufficient criteria to enroll in the study. Zinc concentration more than 85 µ/dl was considered as normal value.  Concentration less than 50 µ/dl was defined as severe zinc deficiency. Mild and moderate  deficiencies were described as zinc levels between 50 to 85 µ/dl. Analysis was performed by t-test, chi-square and ANOVA using SPSS software. Results: Zinc deficiency was found in 7.1% of the participants. In women with body weights between 50.1-60 kg, zinc deficiency was less than patients with body weight of ≤ 50 Kg (p=0.04). In zinc deficient group acne was observed more frequently (p=0.01). Also anemic participants (Hb<12) had lower zinc level than non anemic women (Hb≥12) (p=0.001). Conclusion: This study found severe and mild to moderate zinc deficiency in 1.4% and 5.7% of female students, respectively. Zinc deficiency is common in anemic students. Zinc supplementation is recommended in anemic patients and in cases of confirmed zinc deficiency

Evaluation of respiratory complications in patients with X‐linked and autosomal recessive agammaglobulinemia

[Background] Congenital agammaglobulinemia is the first primary immunodeficiency disorder characterized by a defect in B lymphocyte development and subsequently decreased immunoglobulin levels. These patients are prone to suffer from recurrent infections mostly involving the respiratory tract. In this study, we aimed to describe in detail respiratory tract complications as the most prominent clinical feature among agammaglobulinemic patients.[Methods] A total number of 115 patients were included. Demographic, clinical, and genetic data were collected from the patients’ medical records. Among the available patients, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and/or high‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were performed.[Results] Respiratory tract complications (85.2%) especially pneumonia (62.6%) were the most prominent clinical features in our cohort. Among patients with abnormal PFT results (N = 19), a mixed respiratory pattern was observed in 36.8%. HRCT was carried out in 29 patients; Bhalla scoring‐based evaluation of these patients indicated excellent (44.8%), followed by good (34.5%) and mild (20.7%) results. Bronchiectasis was found in 13 patients undergoing HRCT (44.8%). We found significant inverse correlations between the Bhalla score and incidence rate of pneumonia, as well as the presence of bronchiectasis. Patients with abnormal PFT results had statistically significant higher bronchiectasis frequency and lower Bhalla scores compared to those with normal results. Forty‐one patients were deceased, and here, respiratory failure was the most common cause of death (45.5%).[Conclusion] High prevalence of respiratory tract infections among agammaglobulinemic patients and subsequent progression to permanent lung damage highlights the importance of implementing respiratory evaluation as part of routine follow‐up program of agammaglobulinemic patients. Physicians should be aware of this and regularly monitor the respiratory function of these patients to allow for timely diagnosis and treatment initiation aiming to improve patients’ prognosis and quality of life.This work was supported by a grant (37023‐154‐04‐96) from Tehran University of Medical Science