New research from Spain focuses attention once again on the role of zinc in infection control, showing that higher zinc levels are associated with lower mortality rates from COVID-19 infection.
The researchers looked at the zinc levels of patients admitted to hospital in Barcelona in March and April this year. The average zinc level of all patients was 61mcg/dL. Around 8% of the patients died, and they had significantly lower zinc levels of 43mcg/dL.
The study found that a plasma zinc level lower than 50mcg/dL was associated with an increased risk of death of 2.3 times that of patients with higher zinc levels.
The findings were presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases’ online coronavirus disease conference and are considered preliminary findings at this stage. More research is needed into the link between zinc and COVID-19 outcomes.
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