Zinc absorption in inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Zinc absorption was measured in 29 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and a wide spectrum of disease activity to determine its relationship to disease activity, general nutritional state, and zinc status. Patients with severe disease requiring either supplementary oral or parenteral nutrition were excluded. The mean⁶⁵ZnCl₂ absorption, in the patients, determined using a⁶⁵Zn and⁵¹Cr stool-counting test, 45±17% (SD), was significantly lower than the values, 54±16%, in 30 healthy controls,P0.1. Thus, impairment in⁶⁵ZnCl₂ absorption in the patients selected for this study was only evident in undernourished persons with moderate or severe disease activity, but biochemical evidence of zinc deficiency was uncommon, and clinical features of zinc depletion were not encountered.