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Low serum zinc in children with atopic eczema
Author(s) -
DAVID T.J.,
WELLS F.E.,
SHARPE T.C.,
GIBBS A.C.C.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1984.tb06630.x
Subject(s) - zinc , medicine , serum concentration , zinc deficiency (plant disorder) , allergy , gastroenterology , endocrinology , immunology , chemistry , organic chemistry
SUMMARY Serum zinc was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in sixty‐five children with atopic eczema and seventy‐nine control children. The mean serum zinc of the patients, (11·4 ± 2·0 μmol/l) was significantly lower than that of the controls (13·7 ± 2·3 μmol/l, P < 0·0001). There was no significant correlation between the patients'serum zinc concentration and either the height/weight centile or a subjective assessment of severity and extent of the eczema. Of eleven patients with serum zinc below 10 μmol/l, six had recurrent infections of the skin, a significantly greater proportion than in patients whose serum zinc was 10 μmol/l or above. It is suspected that the decreased plasma zinc concentration in children with eczema is a non‐specific consequence of the dermatological disorder, and therefore there is no indication for zinc supplementation.