The relationship between zinc nutritional status and physical function in the elderly

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the zinc nutritional status and the factors associated with ADL (Activities of Daily Living) in the elderly patients in nursing facilities. The Factors correlated with ADL were body mass index (BMI), level of care, grade of bedridden, and grade of cognitive. The estimations of the hematological consistent, physical index, and dietary survey were made based on an examination carried out on a total 55 disabled elderly patients aged from 63 to 100 years old. The obtained results from this study are summarized as follows: 1) The subjects showed low levels of serum zinc, although the intake of zinc was close to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) level. 2) The four significant positive correlations were found between the serum zinc and the albumin (Alb) and BMI, between the serum Alb and the serum zinc and BMI, between the BMI and the serum zinc and Alb, and between the level of care and the grade of bedridden and grade of cognitive. And also, the two significant inverse correlations were found between the Alb and the grade of bedridden and grade of cognitive, and between the BMI and the level of care, grade of bedridden and grade of cognitive. 3) The BMI, level of care, grade of bedridden, and grade of cognitive of the subjects changed according to the zinc nutritional status. These results suggested that to improve and maintain the ADL in the elderly, it is necessary to increase the levels of zinc and albumin in the serum, and BMI to the reference values of them.