Zinc from supplements associated with reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer

The March, 2009 issue of Nutrition and Cancer published the finding of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center of an association between long term consumption of zinc supplements and a reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer in men.

Prostate tissue contains ten times the level of zinc than other soft tissues in the body, while adenocarcinoma cells from prostate tumors lose the ability to concentrate the mineral. These and other factors led Emily White and colleagues to hypothesize that prostate cancer risk could be lowered by increased zinc intake.

For the current study, they evaluated data from 35,242 men between the ages of 50 to 76 who participated in the VITamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study of the impact of dietary supplements on cancer risk. Questionnaires completed upon enrollment provided information concerning diet and nutritional supplement intake over the past ten years, as well as demographic characteristics and health history. Eight hundred thirty-two of these participants developed invasive prostate cancers over a four year follow-up period, categorized as local, regional or distant invasion. Continue Reading

Reduced serum zinc levels predict death in patients at risk of cardiovascular events

Research published online on October 24, 2008 in the British Journal of Nutrition revealed a correlation between insufficient zinc levels and a higher risk of death among patients referred for coronary angiography. To the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first to examine the relationship between zinc and mortality in men and women at an intermediate to high risk for future cardiovascular events.

Stefan Pilz, of the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the Medical University of Graz in Austria, and his associates evaluated data from 3316 participants in the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health study of patients referred to coronary angiography in southwest Germany. Blood samples collected prior to angiography were analyzed for zinc, glucose and other factors. The patients were followed for a median of 7.75 years, during which 484 participants died from cardiovascular disease and 261 died of noncardiovascular causes.

For those whose zinc levels were among the lowest 25 percent of participants at less than 780 micrograms per liter there was a 44 percent greater adjusted risk of dying from all causes compared with those whose levels were among the top 25 percent, at greater than 960 mcg/L. Cardiovascular deaths were 24 percent greater among those whose zinc levels were lowest, and the risk of dying from noncardiovascular causes was more than double that of participants whose zinc levels were highest. Continue Reading