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3To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. The EMMES Corporation, 401 North Washington Street, Suite 700, Rockville, MD 20850. E-mail: aredspub{at}emmes.com
| ABSTRACT |
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KEY WORDS: AREDS zinc oxide cupric oxide serum cholesterol randomized trial humans
| INTRODUCTION |
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100300 mg/d (16
Zinc supplementation at a level of 80 mg/d of zinc sulfate was found in a short-term pilot study to reduce the risk of vision loss in persons with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (17
). Few studies have reported the effect of long-term supplementation with zinc on lipoprotein profiles or the risk of anemia. Whether long-term supplementation with zinc at moderately high doses increases serum zinc levels or leads to alterations of other serum levels is unclear. This is a particularly important issue because over half of the elderly U.S. population uses dietary supplements, and high doses of zinc are marketed in supplements purported to promote eye health.
Data collected as part of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) allow us to examine the effect of 5 y of daily, moderately high dose, oral zinc oxide supplementation on serum levels of zinc, copper, hematocrit and cholesterol in 717 elderly, relatively well-nourished participants with early-to-late signs of age-related macular degeneration. The clinical trial ended in 2001, and results were published in October 2001 (18
,19
).
| SUBJECTS AND METHODS |
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Between 1992 and 1998, 11 clinical centers enrolled 4757 participants into clinical trials of AMD and cataract as part of AREDS. The 3640 participants with AMD, defined by the presence of drusen or retinal pigment epithelial abnormalities, were part of a factorial design evaluating the effect of both a zinc formulation and a vitamin/antioxidant formulation (Table 1)
on progression to advanced AMD. To be eligible for enrollment, participants had to agree to stop using any supplements containing the study ingredients. To standardize supplemental nutrient intake among multivitamin supplementors, participants who wanted to take or con- tinue to take a multivitamin were provided with Centrum (Whitehall-Robins Healthcare, Madison, NJ), a multivitamin and mineral supplement containing RDA-type dosages. The study was double-masked, i.e., neither the participant nor the studys clinicians were aware of the treatment assignment. The four treatment interventions were given as an oral total daily supplementation of antioxidants (500 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, and 15 mg ß-carotene), or zinc [80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide and 2 mg of copper as cupric oxide to prevent potential anemia (15
)], or the combination of antioxidants and zinc, or placebo (containing no multivitamins or minerals). Compliance was measured at each clinic visit by estimated pill count from returned study medication bottles. Details of the study design have been reported elsewhere (20
).
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Three of the eleven AREDS clinical centers enrolled 868 participants between 55 and 80 y of age with early-to-late AMD, who were randomly assigned to supplements containing zinc or no zinc. A baseline zinc specimen was collected from 851 of these participants. This report is restricted to the 717 of these 851 participants with at least 5 y of follow-up data (Table 1)
. Participants consented to baseline and annual blood drawing to measure serum levels of antioxidants, zinc and copper as well as total and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and hematocrit. Blood samples were sent to the AREDS Central Laboratory (the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta) for measuring levels of lipids, antioxidants and zinc using methods described in the AREDS Manual of Operations (21
). Serum copper and zinc are measured by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy on a JY 70 plus Sequential and Simultaneous Inductively Coupled Plasma-Emission Spectrometer (Instruments SA, Edison, NJ). Serum (0.5 mL) is diluted with 4.5 mL of 0.1 mol/L HCl containing 1 mg/L yttrium. The sample is aspirated into an argon plasma whose temperature is
8000°K. The intensity of copper is measured at the 324.754-nm wavelength and that of zinc is measured at the 213.856-nm wavelength. Total cholesterol was measured on the Abbott Spectrum Analyzer CCX (Abbott Laboratories, Diagnostics Division, Abbott Park, IL). In this procedure, cholesterol esters in serum are hydrolyzed to free cholesterol by cholesterol esterase. The cholesterol produced is oxidized by cholesterol oxidase in a reaction that results in the formation of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide reacts with 4-aminoantipyrine and phenol in the presence of peroxidase to yield a quinoneimine dye that absorbs at 500 nm. Serum HDL cholesterol was measured using the same procedure after precipitation of the other lipid fractions with a solution of dextran sulfate and magnesium.
Triglycerides were also measured with the Abbott Spectrum Analyzer CCX using a correction for free glycerol concentration. In this procedure, serum triglycerides are converted to glycerol and free fatty acids by lipoprotein lipase. The glycerol is then converted to glycerol-3-phosphate by glycerol kinase in the presence of ATP. The glycerol-3-phosphate is reacted with oxygen in the presence of glycerol-3-phosphate-oxidase to form hydrogen peroxide. This in turn forms a colored complex with aminoantipyrine and chlorophenol in the presence of peroxidase. The intensity of absorbance of the chromophore is directly proportional to the total triglyceride concentration in the sample and is measured spectrophotometrically at 500 nm.
Hematocrit was measured by each Clinical Centers local laboratory at the participants initial visit and annually thereafter. LDL cholesterol was calculated using the Friedewald equation: LDL = total cholesterol - HDL - (triglyceride/5). The Block Food-Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was modified and validated (22
), and then administered at baseline to all participants (21
). Zinc intake was calculated by evaluating the nutrient content per 100 g of each food on the questionnaire. For example, the nutrient content of zinc per 100 g of oysters is 90.81 mg, whereas the nutrient content of zinc per 100 g of peas is 0.94 mg. All participants were asked at enrollment and 5 y later to report on use of concomitant medications, including lipid-lowering medications.
Statistical analysis.
Changes in serum levels over time were tested using the SAS procedure MIXED (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) to perform separate repeated-measures analyses on serum zinc, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, calculated LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, copper and hematocrit. Primary covariates include time (discrete "year" values), assignment to a zinc formulation and baseline quartile of serum zinc. Additional covariate adjustments were for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) and the interaction between the treatment assignments antioxidants and zinc. No significant interaction between administration of zinc and antioxidant vitamins was found for any of the outcome measures; this analysis and report considers only the contribution of trace metals, without regard to antioxidant supplementation.
The quartile distributions of serum levels of zinc, copper, lipids and hematocrit were calculated using the SAS procedure UNIVARIATE. Baseline serum zinc is grouped into three categories defined by the upper, middle and lower quartiles; 25% of the distribution is less than the low quartile (Low), 50% between the low and high quartile (Middle 50%) and 25% greater than the high quartile (High). The percentage of change in serum zinc at 5 y by baseline zinc quartile group, and baseline cholesterol measures by baseline zinc quartile group, are represented by box plots. In a box plot, the horizontal line in the box is the median; the lower and upper edge of the box are the low and high quartile, respectively; the lower and upper vertical lines extend to approximately the 5th and 95th percentiles; the asterisks and circles indicate extreme and more extreme values, respectively. Off-center location of the median in the box or vertical lines of unequal length indicate an asymmetrical distribution.
| RESULTS |
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The baseline median serum zinc value was higher for men than women, and not different between participants in the zinc and no zinc treatment groups (Table 3)
. Figure 1
shows the mean and standard error of serum zinc levels over 5 y by zinc assignment. At 1-y, zinc levels in the zinc supplementation group had increased by a median of 17% and this increase was essentially unchanged in subsequent years. An analysis of the change in serum zinc over time, adjusted for baseline zinc quartile, age, gender and BMI, found a difference in the change in serum zinc between the zinc-assigned group and the no zinc group (P < 0.001).
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Serum copper levels and hematocrit were not affected by the zinc plus copper supplements (P
0.10). The median percentage of change in copper measures over 5 y was a decrease of 1% for the zinc-supplemented group and a 1% increase in the no zinc group. The median percentage of change in hematocrit was 0% for both treatment groups (Table 3)
.
Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, calculated LDL cholesterol.
Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and calculated LDL cholesterol serum levels were not significantly affected by zinc supplementation (P > 0.25). The median total cholesterol decreased after 5 y by 4% and 2% for the zinc and no zinc groups, respectively, whereas the median triglyceride level decreased by 2% for the zinc group and increased by 2% for the no zinc group. HDL cholesterol level median change was 0% for the zinc group and +1% for the no zinc group (Table 3)
. The median change in calculated LDL cholesterol levels was a decrease of 6% for the zinc group and a decrease of 5% for the no zinc group.
Baseline serum zinc levels were significant predictors of baseline lipid measures. Lower baseline serum zinc levels were associated with lower levels of total cholesterol (P < 0.001, Fig. 3
) and triglycerides (P < 0.001, Fig. 4
), with higher levels of HDL cholesterol (P < 0.001, Fig. 5
) and with lower levels of calculated LDL cholesterol (P < 0.001, Fig. 6
). No difference between treatment groups was observed in the change in use of cholesterol-modifying medications between baseline and 5 y (P > 0.15). An analysis restricted to participants who never took cholesterol-lowering medications found no increases in total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol or LDL cholesterol for the zinc and no zinc groups over 5 y (P > 0.09). Differences between zinc and no zinc groups in median percentage of change did not exceed 2%.
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| DISCUSSION |
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13 µmol/L each for women and men, respectively (24
Despite homeostatic mechanisms that regulate zinc absorption, secretion and redistribution, previous studies have shown that dietary zinc supplementation increases plasma zinc levels (25
,26
). Similarly, we found that daily supplementation with 80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide combined with 2 mg of copper as cupric oxide resulted in a median increase in zinc levels of 17% after 5 y of supplementation in a cohort for which high adherence to study medications was estimated to be present in 79% of the group. This increase is much greater than the 2% median increase in the group not receiving zinc. The median increase in serum zinc levels in the group not receiving zinc may be due in part to supplementation by 65% of participants with daily Centrum, which contains 15 mg of zinc as zinc oxide.
Changes in mean serum zinc levels from baseline were uniform over the period from 1 through 5 y of follow-up. Baseline zinc intake and serum concentrations were higher in men than women, and the percentage of increase in serum zinc over the study period decreased with an increase in the baseline zinc level. Overall, the percentages of change in zinc levels with supplementation were similar in men and women. Within each quartile of baseline zinc at the 5-y visit, the difference in the median percentage of change in serum zinc between the zinc group and no zinc group was similar, except for the high baseline serum zinc quartile for men. In this group, the difference in the median percentage of change was only 4%. Whether this finding is a result of a combination of bioregulation preventing increase beyond threshold levels and regression to the mean requires further study.
The combination of 80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide and 2 mg of copper as cupric oxide increased serum zinc, but had no effect on copper levels. The absence of an effect on copper levels is consistent with the findings of an earlier study reporting that supplementation with 150 mg/d of zinc alone (
10 times the RDA) in healthy volunteers had no effect on plasma copper levels over 6 wk, suggesting no effect of even this relatively high zinc intake on copper transport (27
). Long-term effects on hematopoiesis were not investigated in that study, but other toxicities were observed, including headaches, abdominal cramps, nausea, loss of appetite and vomiting. A summary of adverse experiences occurring in the AREDS population was described as part of the primary results from the clinical trial, reported in the fall of 2001 (18
,19
).
The effect of zinc levels on lipids has been studied in cross-sectional studies (3
,9
,28
). Between 1987 and 1990, fasting serum zinc and serum lipid levels were examined in individuals aged 2280 y (28
). In that study, serum zinc levels, particularly those above the highest quintile, were found to be associated with higher levels of total serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. No association was found between zinc and HDL cholesterol. Baseline serum zinc in AREDS was positively associated with total cholesterol, calculated LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and negatively with HDL cholesterol levels. Zinc supplements in AREDS did result in increases in zinc levels but no associations were found with lipids or hematocrit over 5 y of follow-up. The effect of increased zinc levels over longer periods may still be a concern.
A study in atherosclerotic men reported a decreased Zn/Cu ratio and a high correlation between copper levels and both total and LDL cholesterol (3
). In another study, decreased dietary zinc and decreased plasma zinc levels were reported to be associated with coronary artery disease and diabetes, as well as with the coronary artery disease risk factors of hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia (9
). The results of these two studies contradict the notion that higher zinc levels predispose to coronary heart disease by elevating LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. In AREDS, we found lipid metabolism, as indicated by serum measurements of total cholesterol, calculated LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, to be unchanged by moderately high, long-term supplementation with zinc plus copper. Differences in lipid levels may have been masked by the initiation of cholesterol-modifying medications, but no difference between the zinc and no zinc treatment groups was found in the frequency of new onset use of cholesterol-modifying medications at 5 y. Furthermore, no changes in lipid levels were observed among those who had never used lipid-lowering medications. Our findings suggest that the positive associations between baseline serum zinc levels and lipids found in AREDS and in cross-sectional studies may not necessarily reflect a causal relationship between zinc and these measures, but may rather result from zinc being a surrogate for unknown factors that influence serum cholesterol.
In conclusion, 5 y of daily, oral supplementation with 80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide and 2 mg of copper as cupric oxide in AREDS participants did not influence the laboratory parameters of greatest health concern, namely, hematopoiesis as measured by hematocrit, and lipid metabolism as determined from total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, calculated LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Because zinc plays a role in many major metabolic pathways and is a constituent of many enzymes, there could be adverse or beneficial effects of oral zinc supplementation on physiologic endpoints that we did not investigate.
| FOOTNOTES |
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2 A complete list of the AREDS Research Group appears in Am. J. Ophthalmol. 131: 167175. Writing Committee (listed alphabetically) Gary Gensler, Rob Gore-Langton, Natalie Kurinij, Anne S. Lindblad and Anne Sowell. ![]()
4 Abbreviations used: AMD, age-related macular degeneration; AREDS, Age-Related Eye Disease Study; BMI, body mass index; FFQ, food-frequency questionnaire; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; RDA, Recommended Daily Allowance. ![]()
Manuscript received 11 July 2001. Initial review completed 14 August 2001. Revision accepted 2 January 2002.
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