Controlled trial of zinc supplementation in anorexia nervosa

✍ Scribed by Carl L. Birmingham; Elliot M. Goldner; Rita Bakan

• Publisher: BioMed Central
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 371 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 2050-2974
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108x(199404)15:3<251::aid-eat2260150308>3.0.co;2-#

✦ Synopsis

Zinc supplementation of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients has been reported to increase the weight gain of AN patients in open trials. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial 100 mg of zinc gluconate, or placebo, was given daily to 35 female AN inpatients until they achieved a 70% increase in body mass index (BMl). The rate of increase in BMI of the zinc supplemented group (n = 16) was twice that of the placebo group (n = 19), and this difference was statistically significant (p = .03). The use of zinc supplementation should be considered in the treatment of AN patients. 0 1994 by john Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The use of zinc supplementation in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN) was suggested by Bakan (1979, 1984) on the basis of the following observations: Both AN and zinc deficiency are associated with weight loss, disorders of appetite and food intake, skin abnormalities, amenorrhea, and depression; the population most at risk for AN and zinc deficiency, females between the ages of 12 to 25 years, are at risk for increased urinary losses of zinc related to estrogen and stress; the diet of young females, particularly anorexics, is frequently low in zinc and high in phytates and fiber, which inhibit the absorption of zinc.

Since then studies indicate that approximately half of AN patients are zinc deficient as measured by urinary zinc studies (Casper,