ArticleAmerican family physician2009
Zinc: an essential micronutrient.
Article in American family physician, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 106 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
106 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 256 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Zinc Supplementation on Anthropometric Indices and Adipokines in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Biological trace element research · 2026Pooled it
- Zinc supplementation in liver cirrhosis: meta-analysis of its effect on biochemical and clinical outcomes.BMC nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of Zinc Supplementation in the Management of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Association between biomarkers of zinc and copper status and heart failure: a meta-analysis.ESC heart failure · 2024Pooled it
- Comparison of the Nutritional Adequacy of Current Food-Based Very Low Energy Diets: A Review and Nutritional Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Antimicrobial Activity of Zinc against Periodontal Pathogens: A Systematic Review of In Vitro Studies.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of enteral zinc supplementation on growth and neurodevelopment of preterm infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2022Pooled it
- Zinc Supplementation, Inflammation, and Gut Integrity Markers in HIV Infection: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Plasma mineral status after a six-month intervention providing one egg per day to young Malawian children: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- The effect of staggered administration of zinc sulfate on the pharmacokinetics of oral cephalexin.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2012Trial
- Zinc homeostasis imbalance: Potential therapeutic value in neurodegenerative diseases.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Zinc sulfate modulates the C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cell line secretome and NFκB signaling during inflammation to influence selected immune cell responses.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Causal Relationship Between Serum Zinc Levels and Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD): A Plasma Proteomics Mediation Study.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Impact of Zinc Deficiency in Heart Failure Patients According to Ejection Fraction Subtype - An Observational Study.Circulation reports · 2026Article
- Mediation of Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Dietary Patterns with Relation to Vitamin D and Erythropoiesis-Related Micronutrients in Pregnant Women.International journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Impact of Zinc Deficiency on the Severity of Pneumonia in Pediatric Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Preclinical research models for evaluating the biocompatibility of bioresorbable metallic cardiovascular stents: A comparative review.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- Zinc/Silver-Based Hydrogen Sulfide Trapping as an Alternative to Cadmium for Sulfur Stable Isotope Analysis.Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM · 2025Article
- A Trace Element-Ulcer Map: Decoding Micronutrient-Ulcer Relationships Through Genetic Architecture and Pleiotropy-Aware Inference.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
46 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Zinc is an essential micronutrient for human metabolism that catalyzes more than 100 enzymes, facilitates protein folding, and helps regulate gene expression. Patients with malnutrition, alcoholism, inflammatory bowel disease, and malabsorption syndromes are at an increased risk of zinc deficiency. Symptoms of zinc deficiency are nonspecific, including growth retardation, diarrhea, alopecia, glossitis, nail dystrophy, decreased immunity, and hypogonadism in males. In developing countries, zinc supplementation may be effective for the prevention of upper respiratory infection and diarrhea, and as an adjunct treatment for diarrhea in malnourished children. Zinc in combination with antioxidants may be modestly effective in slowing the progression of intermediate and advanced age-related macular degeneration. Zinc is an effective treatment for Wilson disease. Current data do not support zinc supplementation as effective for upper respiratory infection, wound healing, or human immunodeficiency virus. Zinc is well tolerated at recommended dosages. Adverse effects of long-term high-dose zinc use include suppressed immunity, decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, anemia, copper deficiency, and possible genitourinary complications.
Indexed as
Identifiers
20141096PMC2820120W2137368307What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.