Anemia

Volume 2014 (2014), Article ID 125452, 6 pages

http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/125452

Research Article

Assessment of Serum Zinc Levels of Patients with Thalassemia Compared to Their Siblings

Mohamed El Missiry,¹ Mohamed Hamed Hussein,¹ Sadaf Khalid,¹ Naila Yaqub,² Sarah Khan,² Fatima Itrat,² Cornelio Uderzo,¹ and Lawrence Faulkner¹

¹Cure2Children Foundation, Via Marconi 30, 50131 Florence, Italy

²Children’s Hospital Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan

Received 31 January 2014; Accepted 5 August 2014; Published 14 August 2014

Academic Editor: Aurelio Maggio

Copyright © 2014 Mohamed El Missiry et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract.

Zinc (Zn) is essential for appropriate growth and proper immune function, both of which may be impaired in thalassemia children. Factors that can affect serum Zn levels in these patients may be related to their disease or treatment or nutritional causes. We assessed the serum Zn levels of children with thalassemia paired with a sibling. Zn levels were obtained from 30 children in Islamabad, Pakistan. Serum Zn levels and anthropometric data measures were compared among siblings. Thalassemia patients’ median age was 4.5 years (range 1–10.6 years) and siblings was 7.8 years (range 1.1–17 years). The median serum Zn levels for both groups were within normal range: 100 μg/dL (10 μg/dL–297 μg/dL) for patients and 92 μg/dL (13 μg/dL–212 μg/dL) for siblings. There was no significant difference between the two groups. Patients’ serum Zn values correlated positively with their corresponding siblings (, ). There were no correlations between patients’ Zn levels, height for age Z-scores, serum ferritin levels, chelation, or blood counts (including both total leukocyte and absolute lymphocyte counts). Patients’ serum Zn values correlated with their siblings’ values. In this study, patients with thalassemia do not seem to have disease-related Zn deficiency.

1. Introduction

Zinc (Zn) is an essential element for cell growth, differentiation, and survival. It is a structural element of many proteins [1]. Zinc affects growth in children. It is known that adequate zinc levels in the body are essential for maintaining suitable levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor in the body [2]. Impairment of zinc levels will consequently lead to growth hormone decrease. Zinc supplement is given to children on growth hormone replacement therapy. In addition, zinc is important for nucleic acid synthesis, cell division, and metabolism of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. It is also essential in bone homeostasis and bone growth as well as in the maintenance of connective tissues. Decreased Zn may compromise growth and immune functions [2, 3].

Zn is known to be important for the integrity of the immune system, although its role and mechanism of action are not fully understood [1, 4–6]. Zn deficiency affects the adaptive immune system and results in thymus atrophy, lymphopenia, and impaired lymphocyte function [4, 7, 8].

Zinc deficiency is prevalent in children of developing countries where food is often vegetable-based and rarely includes animal products. Zinc is easily absorbed with animal proteins, while excess plant meals lead to decreased zinc absorption due to its binding to phytates [9, 10]. In such countries, Zn deficiency results in growth retardation, hypogonadism, and increased mortality and morbidly from infection-related diarrhea and pneumonia due to compromised immune function [4, 9].

Despite deficits of several specific micronutrients reported in children with thalassemia major, Zn studies yielded conflicting results [7, 11, 12]. Several factors contribute to zinc deficiency in thalassemia. One of these most important factors is chelation therapy. Chelators, namely, deferoxamine and deferiprone, may contribute to Zn deficiency in thalassemia as they tend to eliminate positive divalent ions, like iron and Zn, into urine [7, 13, 14]. On the other side, some studies showed no significant correlation between zinc level and short stature, serum ferritin level, desferrioxamine dose, age at first blood transfusion, and chelation therapy [7]. Zinc can be normal in some patients especially those who are on regular blood transfusions [7, 11, 12]. What is notable that these studies were performed on adequately treated patients subjects which is not the case in many thalassemia affected areas where access to treatment is not always possible.

In the present study, we aimed to assess serum Zn levels in patients with thalassemia and their siblings in a lower middle income country, namely, Pakistan (http://data.worldbank.org/country/pakistan), to determine whether Zn deficiency is present and, if so, if it is related to the disease per se, the use of chelation or to nutritional factors.

2. Patients and Methods

The present study was performed at the Children’s Hospital of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, Pakistan, between June 2009 and February 2012. A total of 30 patients with -thalassemia major and 30 siblings were included. Parental informed consent was obtained. The following data were obtained from the patients’ clinical file records: blood transfusion history, last ferritin measurement, onset of chelation therapy and type of chelation used, and infection profile. In addition to serum Zn levels, anthropometric measures such as height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) (BMI = weight (kg)/height² (m²) were obtained).

Sampling and processing: Three mL of peripheral venous blood was withdrawn from each patient and sibling in the early morning, three hours before having breakfast. The samples were left for 20 minutes to clot at room temperature and then centrifuged at 2000 g for 10 minutes, and sera were separated and put into aliquots which were stored at −70°C till they were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS; AA300). Zn normal values were estimated to lie between 65 and 120 μg/dL [15].

Statistical analyses were performed by parametric single and paired -test (after the run of normality test to check that data is normally distributed) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. A value 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

3. Results

Median patient age was 4.5 years (ranging from 1 to 10.6 years) and median sibling age was 7.3 years (ranging from 1.1 to 17 years). Patients’ serum Zn ranged from 10 μg/dL to 297 μg/dL (median 100 μg/dL), while siblings’ serum Zn ranged from 13 μg/dL to 212 μg/dL (median 92 μg/dL) (Figure 1). There were no significant differences in Zn levels between the patients and their corresponding siblings () on matched pair analysis (Table 1). However, it was found that Zn levels were significantly correlated between patients with their corresponding siblings ( correlation coefficient = 0.63, ) (Figure 2).

Table 1: (a) A collective table for the data of the patients: zinc level in g/dL, sex (m: male, f: female), age (in years), height (in cm), height-age -score, ferritin level (in ng/mL), chelation type, and ALC (in microL). (b) A collective table for the data of the patients: zinc level in g/dL, sex (m: male, f: female), age (in years), height (in cm), and height-age -score.

(a)

Patient number
Zinc level (g/dL)
Sex
Age (years)
Height (cm)
Height-age -score
Ferritin (ng/mL)
Chelation
ALC (microL)

1
94
m
2.6
84
−1.33
694
None
6325

2
58
m
2.9
92
−0.97
2527
None
6200

3
68
f
5.3
100
−2.29
3004
Deferasirox
3903

4
297
m
2.5
92
−0.04
785
None
3891

5
130
m
1
72
−2
641
None
7956

6
66
m
5.5
106
−1.51
2129
Deferoxamine
2156

7
102
f
2.5
91
−1
2000
Deferasirox
8024

8
80
f
8.8
122
−1.57
3513
Deferoxamine
2340

9
109
m
3.8
88
−4
1551
None
7526

10
157
m
4.4
106
−1
2425
Deferoxamine
3872

11
120
m
8.2
115
−2.31
1502
Deferoxamine
3008

12
74
m
2.5
89
−1.17
616
None
4884

13
127
m
5.4
105
−1.48
3810
None
3570

14
75
f
4
95
−1.79
1150
None
1700

15
117
f
4.6
111
0.92
1804
Deferasirox
1218

16
295
m
1.9
81
−1.6
850
None
9040

17
88
m
10.6
131
−1.5
5475
Deferasirox
1160

18
116
f
4
95
−2
2836
None
2813

19
17
m
4.7
113
1.09
658
None
2592

20
111
m
5.6
109
−1.18
2411
Deferoxamine
5002

21
112
m
7.1
114
−1.53
1951
None
1353

22
10
m
1.6
72
−4.2
81.15
None
817

23
79
m
2.2
83
−1.9
2621
None
5490

24
15
f
5
110
0.14
5036
Deferoxamine
1980

25
97
f
10
124
−2.32
706
Deferasirox
4312

26
96
f
10.4
139
−0.32
4487
Deferoxamine
3062

27
120
m
4.5
106
−0.33
5054
None
3180

28
105
f
7.4
117
−1.41
1760
Deferasirox
4260

29
98
m
1.3
75
−1.9
3812
None
5535

30
260
m
4.4
98
−2.01
4100
Deferasirox
3944

(b)

Sibling number
Zinc level (g/dL)
Sex
Age (years)
Height (cm)
Height-age -score
Sibling carrier status

Sibling of 1
25
f
12.0
143
−1.23
Not a carrier

Sibling of 2
75
m
5.9
128
2.62
Carrier

Sibling of 3
28
f
9.4
127
−1.31
Not a carrier

Sibling of 4
203
m
6.2
108
−1.85
Not a carrier

Sibling of 5
68
f
11.5
136
−1.8
Carrier

Sibling of 6
35
m
2.4
89
−0.48
Carrier

Sibling of 7
151
f
1.1
77
0.74
Not a carrier

Sibling of 8
89
m
4.1
108
0.95
Carrier

Sibling of 9
212
f
8.7
117
−2.24
Carrier

Sibling of 10
194
f
12.4
150
−0.53
Carrier

Sibling of 11
138
m
6.9
110
−2.16
Not a carrier

Sibling of 12
72
m
6.9
119
−0.41
Carrier

Sibling of 13
81
m
1.5
75
−2.5
Not a carrier

Sibling of 14
82
m
12.0
140
−1.26
Carrier

Sibling of 15
98
f
2.6
144
−1.51
Not a carrier

Sibling of 16
90
f
5.3
104
−1.39
Carrier

Sibling of 17
79
f
17.0
149
−2.07
Carrier

Sibling of 18
98
m
14.1
150
−1.8
Not a carrier

Sibling of 19
42
f
9.0
137
0.74
Not a carrier

Sibling of 20
94
f
7.5
118
−1.03
Not a carrier

Sibling of 21
107
f
11.9
132
−2.7
Carrier

Sibling of 22
13
m
3.2
89
−2.18
Carrier

Sibling of 23
96
m
11.2
134
1.5
Carrier

Sibling of 24
13
f
7.2
124
0.39
Carrier

Sibling of 25
113
m
8.0
106
−3.78
Carrier

Sibling of 26
87
f
2.4
90
−0.01
Carrier

Sibling of 27
123
f
7.2
130
1.45
Carrier

Sibling of 28
114
f
1.2
73
−1.1
Carrier

Sibling of 29
103
f
9.2
140
0.98
Not a carrier

Sibling of 30
180
f
12.0
138
−1.94
Not a carrier

Figure 1: Comparison between serum Zn levels for patients and their corresponding siblings. Median levels were within normal range: 100 μg/dL (10 μg/dL–297 μg/dL) for patients and 92 μg/dL (13 μg/dL–212 μg/dL) for siblings.

Figure 2: Correlation between patients’ serum Zn values. Levels correlated positively with corresponding (, ).

After measuring the height for age -scores for the 30 patients with thalassemia, it was found that heights ranged between −4.2 at minimum and 1.09 at maximum (median = −1.5). Height for age -scores and Zn levels did not correlate ().

For siblings, the median height for age -scores was −1.2 and ranged from −3.78 to 2.6 (median = −1.2). A comparison of patient height for age -scores with corresponding values for siblings revealed that patients’ -scores levels were significantly lower than corresponding siblings (). Correlation between the two groups was weakly positive (), and pairing between the two groups was statistically significant ().

The median patient serum ferritin level was 2065 ng/mL (range: 5475 ng/mL–81.15 ng/mL) and showed no correlation with patients’ Zn level ().

Regular chelation therapy was used by 14 patients: 7 cases were on deferasirox and 7 cases on desferrioxamine, while 16 cases received no chelation therapy. No significant difference in Zn levels was found between chelated and nonchelated groups (median zinc levels were 103.5 μg/dL and 96 μg/dL for chelated and nonchelated patients, respectively, ). There was also no significant difference in zinc values between patients on desferrioxamine and those on deferasirox (median zinc levels were 96 μg/dL and 102 μg/dL for patients with desferrioxamine and deferasirox, respectively, ).

Absolute lymphocytic count (ALC) ranged between 817 and 9040 microL, with a median of 3882 microL. No correlation was found between patients’ Zn values and ALC ().

4. Discussion

Zinc is an essential element for growth and immunity. In this study we aimed to compare serum Zn levels between thalassemia patients and their healthy siblings as to assess whether a possible deficiency is influenced by the disease itself or by nutritional and familial/environmental causes.

Patients’ and siblings’ Zn median values were within the normal range (median values were 100 μg/dL and 92 μg/dL for patients and siblings, resp.) with no significant difference (patients’ serum Zn median value was 100 μg/dL versus 92 μg/dL for siblings) (Figure 1). This finding is in agreement with studies by Rea et al. (1984) [12] and Donma et al. (1990) [11] who noted that the serum Zn levels of patients with thalassemia can be higher than normal [11, 12]. Among the 30 siblings in this study, 18 were carriers for beta thalassemia and 12 were not with no significant differences between the two groups, suggesting that Zn status is not related to thalassemia—the disease itself or trait. The patients’ Zn values in this study correlated significantly with corresponding siblings ( correlation coefficient = 0.63, ) (Figure 2) suggesting that Zn level was not influenced by thalassemia or its treatment [7], but rather seems more likely related to familial factors either genetic or nutritional/environmental [7].

No correlation between Zn values and growth (height for age -scores) was observed in our patients. Similar results have been found in several other studies; thus, it is assumed that a Zn deficiency is not related to short stature [7, 16]. However, in a study by Kyriakou and Skordis (2009) [17], the authors proposed that Zn deficiency could be a concomitant factor for growth failure among patients with thalassemia [17]. As patients were found to have significant lower height-for-age compared to their siblings, however there are other concomitant variables such as chronic anemia, iron overload-related endocrine problems, and impaired bone growth which play an important role [18–20]. In our study zinc levels did not seem to differ among siblings suggesting that Zn deficiency may not play a significant role in growth differences often observed between thalassemic children and their brothers or sisters.

It appears that elevated ferritin levels are inversely related to Zn levels so that as ferritin increases, Zn decreases. However, in this study, the correlation was not statically significant. Decreased zinc levels or increased ferritin values have been previously reported [7, 21] and might be explained by inadequacy of clinical care and proper management affecting independently both ferritin and nutritional Zn levels.

With the limitation of a small sample size, in our study chelation therapy did not seem to affect zinc levels. Deferoxamine and deferiprone have been reported to also chelate and eliminate zinc into urine, while for deferasirox, which has a lower affinity for divalent zinc, this seems not to be the case [7, 13, 14].

Several studies have assumed that Zn is important to maintain intact lymphocytic function and counts [4, 7]. Fraker and King (2004) [8] found that a Zn deficiency led to lymphopenia [8]. In conclusion, this study showed that patients with thalassemia do not seem to be prone to Zn deficiency. Patients’ serum Zn values correlated with their sibling suggesting that serum Zn levels are possibly more influenced by familial and environmental factors rather than by thalassemia per se or its treatment.

Abbreviations

ALC: | Absolute lymphocytic count
BMI: | Body mass index
CMV: | Cytomegalovirus
IL-2: | Interleukin 2
IL-10: | Interleukin 10
Treg: | T regulatory cells
Zn: | Zinc.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the patients and their families for showing cooperativeness and they acknowledge the support of Cure2Children foundation (C2C), Florence, Italy, and Pakistani-Italian Debt-for-Development Swap Agreement (PIDSA), Islamabad, Pakistan, for the support of the study. Special thanks are due to Assistant Adjunct Professor of Nursing, Julia Challinor, RN, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, USA, for revising this paper.

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