Reference Range for Zinc Level in Young Healthy Population in Southeast of Iran

Background: There are different controversial reports about Zinc status in healthy and normal population. The aim of this study is to evaluate Zinc status in normal and healthy population. Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted on 320 subjects aged between 10 - 30 years without any underlying diseases or history of mineral therapy in Zahedan, south east of Iran. Zinc level was measured in all subjects after 12 hours fasting. All blood samples were centrifuged following 45 minutes spontaneous coagulation and then stored at -20°C. Zinc level was measured using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, Varian, Australia (spectr AA 240fs, 2009, USA). Results: Of 355 cases, 320 were eligible for the study. Mean age was 15.5 ± 2.15 years and median age was 16. One hundred twenty cases were male and the others were female (200 cases). Mean BMI was 21.43 ± 4.15. Mean Zinc level was 100.1 ± 16 µg/dL. Overall, 2.1% of normal population had Zinc deficiency, 83.3% had normal Zinc status, and 14.6% had Zinc excess. Conclusions: Our study showed minority of cases had Zinc deficiency, which is different from previous reported results, because the most subjects in this study had normal level of zinc. We recommend further studies on diet in our population. It seems the only reason for the obtained result in this part of Iran with low socioeconomic status may be related to the diets containing high levels of Zinc such as whole grains and dairy products.