Observational studyInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2020
COVID-19: Poor outcomes in patients with zinc deficiency.
Observational study in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 158 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
158 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 303 citations in OpenAlex.
- Role of Metals on SARS-CoV-2 Infection: a Review of Recent Epidemiological Studies.Current environmental health reports · 2023Pooled it
- The Association Between Antioxidants and COVID-19 Outcomes: a Systematic Review on Observational Studies.Biological trace element research · 2023Pooled it
- Clinical significance of micronutrient supplements in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical nutrition ESPEN · 2022Pooled it
- Circulating trace elements status in COVID-19 disease: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Micronutrients Deficiency, Supplementation and Novel Coronavirus Infections-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Relation of Serum Copper Status to Survival in COVID-19.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- A pilot double-blind safety and feasibility randomized controlled trial of high-dose intravenous zinc in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.Journal of medical virology · 2021Trial
- Serum zinc level independently predicts need for inpatient intubation among patients hospitalized with COVID-19: A prospective observational study.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Observational
- Assessment of micronutrient levels in patients with post COVID musculoskeletal manifestations - A cross-sectional observational study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Zinc deficiency as possible link between immunosenescence and age-related diseases.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2025Review
- Analysis of serum zinc level in patients with severe trauma.Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition · 2025Article
- Plasma zinc and selenium levels in adult inpatients with Lassa fever in Nigeria: A case-controlled study.IJID regions · 2025Article
- Immunomodulatory Effects of Selected Non-Nutritive Bioactive Compounds and Their Role in Optimal Nutrition.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Histopathology of the tongue in a hamster model of COVID-19.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Antioxidant and oxidative enzymes, genetic variants, and cofactors as prognostic biomarkers of COVID-19 severity and mortality: a systematic review.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2025Review
- Zinc Deficiency Associated With an Increase in Mortality in COVID-19 Patients: A Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2025Review
- Impact of a New Preoperative Immune-Nutrition Protocol Using Zinc on Hospital Outcomes of Children with Hirschsprung's Disease: A Novel Randomized Controlled Trial.Pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition · 2025Article
- Association of zinc deficiency and clinical symptoms, inflammatory markers, severity of COVID-19 in hospitalized children.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Determination of Serum Levels of Interleukin-6 and the Trace Element Zinc According to the Clinical Status of Patients With COVID-19.Interdisciplinary perspectives on infectious diseases · 2025Article
98 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundZinc is a trace element with potent immunoregulatory and antiviral properties, and is utilized in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, we do not know the clinical significance of serum Zinc levels in COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of serum zinc in COVID-19 patients and to establish a correlation with disease severity.
methodsThis was a prospective study of fasting zinc levels in COVID-19 patients at the time of hospitalization. An initial comparative analysis was conducted between COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. COVID-19 patients with zinc deficiency were compared to those with normal zinc levels.
resultsCOVID-19 patients (n = 47) showed significantly lower zinc levels when compared to healthy controls (n = 45): median 74.5 (interquartile range 53.4-94.6) μg/dl vs 105.8 (interquartile range 95.65-120.90) μg/dl (p < 0.001). Amongst the COVID-19 patients, 27 (57.4%) were found to be zinc deficient. These patients were found to have higher rates of complications (p = 0.009), acute respiratory distress syndrome (18.5% vs 0%, p = 0.06), corticosteroid therapy (p = 0.02), prolonged hospital stay (p = 0.05), and increased mortality (18.5% vs 0%, p = 0.06). The odds ratio (OR) of developing complications was 5.54 for zinc deficient COVID-19 patients.
conclusionsThe study data clearly show that a significant number of COVID-19 patients were zinc deficient. These zinc deficient patients developed more complications, and the deficiency was associated with a prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality.
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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.