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Serum zinc concentrations and prediabetes and diabetes in the general population

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Abstract

The association between serum zinc and diabetes development remains uncertain. We examined the associations between serum zinc and prediabetes and diabetes, and adult participants (≥ 20 years) from the 2011–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Serum zinc concentrations were measured with inductively coupled plasma dynamic reaction cell mass spectrometry. Prediabetes and diabetes were defined through questionnaires and fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels. Weighted logistic regression and restricted cubic splines were adopted to explore the dose–response relationships between serum zinc concentrations and prediabetes and diabetes. Comparing the highest to lowest quartile of serum zinc concentrations, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of prediabetes and diabetes was 3.24 (2.33–4.52, Pfor trend < 0.01) and 1.64 (1.27–2.11, Pfor trend < 0.01), respectively. In stratified analysis by sex, the association between serum zinc concentrations and prediabetes was found in both men (3.83 (2.60–5.66), Pfor trend < 0.01) and women (2.41 (1.51–3.87), Pfor trend < 0.01), and the association between serum zinc concentrations and diabetes was also found in both men (2.05 (1.34–3.13), Pfor trend < 0.01) and women (1.65 (1.07–2.56), Pfor trend = 0.15). The association between serum zinc and prediabetes was consistent in stratified analyses by body mass index and hypertension, and the association with diabetes was also found in subjects with hypertension. Restricted cubic splines showed that the relationships between serum zinc concentrations and prediabetes and diabetes were linear, respectively. In conclusion, serum zinc concentrations were positively associated with prediabetes and diabetes in the general population, and the associations were linear. The findings need to be confirmed by prospective cohort studies.

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Data availability

The datasets are available in the NHANES: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants and staff of NHANES.

Funding

The authors receive support from the Suzhou ‘Kejiaoxingwei’ Youth Science Project (No.: KJXW2017073).

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Author notes

  1. Junguo Zhang, Jianwei Hu, and Ji Zhao contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Junguo Zhang

  2. Department of Group Health, Maternal and Child Health Institution, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China

    Jianwei Hu & Ji Zhao

  3. Shandong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Jin Li

  4. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No.189, Chaoyang Road, Kunshan, 215300, Jiangsu, China

    Xiaoqin Cai

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  1. Junguo Zhang
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  2. Jianwei Hu
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  3. Ji Zhao
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  4. Jin Li
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  5. Xiaoqin Cai
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Correspondence to Xiaoqin Cai.

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NHANES was approved by the National Center for Health Statistics Research Ethics Review Board.

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Zhang, J., Hu, J., Zhao, J. et al. Serum zinc concentrations and prediabetes and diabetes in the general population. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 1071–1077 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02739-6

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