An Evaluation of Zinc Status in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa
April 1978
in “
Pediatric research
”
Studysummary This study found that zinc levels in hospitalized patients with significant weight loss did not correlate with taste perception or vitamin A status, even in those with reduced taste acuity. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
In a study from 1978, zinc status was evaluated in 27 hospitalized patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), who had lost more than 25% of their body weight without other medical causes. The patients, aged 12 to 32, included 26 females and 1 male. Despite characteristics of zinc deficiency such as alopecia and delayed sexual maturation being common in AN, standardized taste discrimination tests showed no taste perversions, although 6 of 13 patients had reduced taste acuity. The study found no correlation between plasma and hair zinc levels and taste perception, serum carotene, vitamin A, or retinol-binding protein levels. Additionally, zinc levels did not correlate with the amount of weight loss or the duration of symptoms, including amenorrhea.
