S-407 : The Effect of Serum Zinc on Salt Taste Acuity, Preference and Sodium Intake in Hemodialysis Patients

Background: High sodium intake has been known for the major cause of fluid overload in hemodialysis patients, leading to increased cardiovascular mortality. High sodium intake is related to low salt taste acuity and high salt preference, and zinc status is known to influence taste acuity. We tried to analyze the effect of serum zinc status on salt taste acuity, preference and dietary sodium intake in hemodialysis patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 77 patients, who underwent hemodialysis in the Jeju national university hospital. The patients were divided into two groups based on the level of serum zinc: 26 patients showed normal range and 51 patients showed zinc deficiency. 1-day dietary recall was used to estimate the dietary sodium intake and Salt taste acuity and preference were determined by sensory test using the variable concentration of NaCl solution Results: Baseline characteristic, mean age, sex, cause of ESRD, number of HTN medication SBP, DBP were not different between the two groups. The sodium intake showed high tendency in zinc deficient group, but there was no significant difference. Interdialytic weight gain was significantly higher in the zinc deficient group than that in non-zinc deficient group (2.68±1.02 vs. 3.18±1.02 kg ; p=0.04). The NaCl concentration of salt taste acuity and salt taste preference showed higher tendency in the Zn deficient group than that in the Non- Zn deficient group. The correlation between the dietary sodium intake and the level of serum zinc showed the significant negative linear relationship (r=-0.313, p<0.05). Conclusion: We conclude that zinc deficiency may be related to high salt taste acuity, preference and dietary sodium intake in hemodialysis patients.