Zinc level in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients and its effect on disease severity

Introduction and Aim: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (İPF) is a fibrosing interstitial pneumonia of unknown cause with the radiological and histological features of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). The specific cause of İPF is unknown. Zinc is an essential mineral for the organism. Zinc can also function as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic molecule, a critical component of wound healing and a cofactor for DNA synthesis in the respiratory epithelium. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between serum zinc levels and pulmonary fibrosis in patients with İPF. Material and Method: Our study included 37 patients diagnosed with İPF from the Department of Chest Diseases, Balcalı Hospital, Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine, and 38 control patients. It is a prospective case-control study. During the patients' clinic visits, their demographic data, blood zinc levels, respiratory function values, and radiological findings were examined. Zinc levels were measured in the laboratory by the colorimetric method. The data were entered into the SPSS program. Results: Of the İPF patients, 10.8% were women and 89.2% were men, with an average age of 65.8±8.8 years. 84.2% of the control group was male, with a mean age of 64.4±7.5 years, and there was no statistically significant difference between the control group and İPF patients (p = 0,526; p = 0,465). The mean serum zinc level in the İPF group was 135.6±35.8, while the mean zinc level in the control group was 142.7±33.9. Although there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of serum zinc levels, İPF patients had lower zinc levels (p = 0.156). In İPF patients with radiological involvement of 50% or more, the zinc level was 135±39.6, whereas in those with radiological involvement of less than 50%, it was 136±32.5. Although a significant correlation between radiological involvement and serum zinc levels was not found in İPF patients, lower zinc levels were observed in those with radiological involvement of 50% or more. Conclusion: In our study, although there was no significant correlation between serum zinc levels of İPF patients and the control group, serum zinc levels of İPF patients were found to be lower than the control group. Similarly, the zinc levels of İPF patients with radiological involvement above 50% were found to be lower than those with radiological involvement below 50%, although it was not statistically significant. Zinc levels in İPF patients were found to be lower than in the control group and the more severe İPF group (where radiological involvement is greater), but the differences were not statistically significant. However, this may be due to the small number of İPF patients. There is no study in the literature investigating zinc levels in İPF patients. Our study shows that it is important to evaluate zinc levels in İPF patients in multicenter studies with more patients. Key words: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, zinc, radiological involvement