Evaluating the Relation between Serum Zinc Level and Severity and Complications of Cirrhosis

Considering the potential role of zinc deficiency in the quality of life of patients with cirrhosis and complications of the disease, in the present study we aimed to assess the prevalence of zinc deficiency and its relation to the stage of the disease and complications in the affected patients.

In this cross-sectional study, 76 patients with cirrhosis from Qom, Iran, were included during a 1-year period. Data including the level of liver stiffness, severity of the liver disease based on Child-Pugh, MELD(Model for End-Stage Liver Disease), APRI(Aspartate aminotransferase to Platelet Ratio Index), AAR(Aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio), FIB-4 (Fibrosis-4), and King scoring systems, and complications including hepatic encephalopathy, were collected by a checklist and were analyzed by using SPSS software version 21. Independent samples t test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used appropriately and p<0.05 was considered significant.

Of the 76 patients, 50 were men and 26 were women with a mean age of 49.46 ± 14.53 years and mean liver stiffness of 28.29±16.11 kPa in fibroscan. The mean serum level of zinc was 78.4±18.1 µg/dL, which was significantly higher in patients with child A than patients with child B and C classes (p =0.007). This finding was significant in other scoring systems including AAR (p =0.020), KING (p =0.000), MELD (p =0.004), and FIB-4 (p =0.006). No significant relation was detected between serum zinc level and hepatic encephalopathy, bleeding from esophageal varices, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Severity of zinc deficiency is related to the severity of liver cirrhosis but is not related to complications.