The effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on zinc nutritional status

Background: Researchers have found that zinc nutritional status in obese and diabetic subjects is altered: low zinc concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes, with high urinary zinc excretion, were observed. This study evaluated the effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) on plasma, erythrocyte and urinary zinc concentration. Methods: 22 morbidly obese patients were studied before and 6 months after RYGBP. Fasting blood sample and 24-hour urine were collected in the pre- and postoperative phases. A software analyzed the diet information from 3-day food records after RYGBP. Zinc nutritional status was evaluated by determination of the concentration of this mineral in plasma and erythrocytes, and the urinary excretion of zinc / 24 hours by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: The diets consumed by the patients had adequate average concentrations of zinc. Zinc concentration in plasma, erythrocytes and urine were within the values of normality before RYGBP, with mean values of 93.25 +/- 19.34 mu g/dL, 43.85 +/- 7.76 mu g Zn/gHb and 583.05 +/- 359.30 mu g Zn/24 hours, respectively. At 6 months after RYGBP, there was a change in these parameters to 69.82 +/- 10.95 mu g/dL, 51.80 +/- 6.92 mu g Zn/gHb, 535.29 +/- 216.40 mu g Zn/24 hours in the concentration of plasma, erythrocyte and urinary zinc. Conclusion: These results suggest that RYGBP promoted, besides change in body composition, an alteration in the zinc plasma and erythrocytes concentrations which in the medium and long term, could cause problems for these patients.17561762

Hair minerals and metabolic health in Belgian elementary school girls

Literature has repeatedly shown a relationship between hair minerals and metabolic health, although studies in children are currently lacking. This study aims to investigate hair levels of calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), phosphorus (P), and zinc (Zn) and their association with (1) overweight/obesity and (2) metabolic health in Flemish elementary school girls between 5 and 10 years old. Two hundred eighteen girls participated in this study as part of the baseline ChiBS project. Children were subjected to physical examinations, blood and hair sampling. Hair minerals were quantitatively determined via inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after microwave-assisted acid digestion. Body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF%) were studied as anthropometric parameters, and a metabolic score (including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, insulin resistance and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol as parameters) was calculated, with higher scores indicating a more unhealthy metabolic profile. Hair Ca, Ca/Mg, and Ca/P positively correlated with the anthropometric parameters. An inverse correlation was observed between Ca, Mg, and Ca/P in hair and the metabolic score. Inverse correlations were also observed for individual metabolic parameters (i.e., diastolic blood pressure, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, non-HDL cholesterol). In particular, girls with a total number of three or more metabolic parameters above the age-specific 75th percentile showed significantly reduced hair Ca, Mg, and Ca/P concentrations. This study showed reduced hair mineral concentrations in young girls with a more unhealthy metabolic profile. Positive associations were observed between some minerals and BMI and BF%