Thai scientists discover a link between depression and a deficiency of the mineral zinc
Research among 300 workers in Thailand over the age of 60 shows that a zinc deficiency can lead to a higher risk of depression. These employees participated in questionnaires about their eating habits and underwent interviews to assess their mental health and daily functioning. The zinc level in their blood was also measured.
The study found that an average zinc level of 80,5 mcg/dL, which is lower than the normal minimum of 84 mcg/dL, is strongly linked to depression. People with very low zinc levels were more than twice as likely to have a high score on a depression test specifically for older Thai people. This suggests a strong link between not having enough zinc and feeling depressed, especially in women who appeared to be at higher risk for zinc deficiency. Zinc is important for regulating serotonin, a chemical in the brain that makes us happy, which could help explain why a lack of zinc can cause depression.
Zinc deficiency is a common problem worldwide, with 20 to 40% of people not getting enough of this mineral. Zinc is crucial for a strong immune system and helps heal wounds. It is found in foods such as meat, fish, whole grains, nuts and legumes. Although you would think that a varied diet would provide enough zinc, it is still difficult to get enough because our bodies cannot store zinc and we need it every day.
Source: 1 Nutrients 2023; 15(2):322.
Polish research: Greater risk of depression and dementia in elderly people with low zinc levels
The results of the Thai study are consistent with an earlier Polish study from 2015. It showed that older people with a low amount of zinc in their blood are more likely to develop dementia and depression. The Poles conducted research among 100 people aged 80 and older in a nursing home. The scientists measured zinc levels in the blood and tested the participants for signs of dementia and depression. They used a quick mental test with questions about general knowledge and personal information. The results showed that people with lower zinc scores were more likely to have dementia and depression. It also turned out that the older the participants were, the lower their zinc levels were. Even after adjusting for other factors, the association between low zinc levels and a higher risk of mental health problems persisted. This research suggests that zinc is important for brain health, especially in the hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory and learning.
Summary: Get enough zinc to reduce the risk of dementia and depression in the elderly, according to Polish research in people over 80. Lower blood zinc levels are linked to a greater risk of these conditions, with the hippocampus, crucial for memory and learning, being particularly sensitive to zinc deficiency.
Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0117257
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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I read the last article mentioned as a source.
There is a small statistical link (correlation) between a low zinc level and a greater risk of mental problems such as depression and dementia. I would like to say the following about it.
A statistical relationship does not necessarily mean that there is a causal, causative relationship. For example, it could be that older people with a deteriorating mental situation will eat less healthily, resulting in lower zinc levels in the blood. If you want to demonstrate a causal relationship, you must divide a larger random group of elderly people (say 2.000) into half who receive a zinc supplement and the other half who receive a placebo. The participants and researchers only know who belonged to which group after 5-10 years. Only in this way can a causal relationship be established.
I'll give two examples. An amusing German study found that in certain districts there was a correlation between the number of storks and the number of births. A more scientific study was about the fact that children who lived under high-voltage lines had a 50 percent higher incidence of blood cancer. Magnetic influences? No, later research showed that blood cancer was 50 percent more common in poor population groups in general, and that almost only poor people lived under high-voltage lines. It was poverty that caused the difference in the frequency of blood cancer and not the power lines.
Dear Tino, factually correct, but also a bit lame. You know that a double-blind placebo study over such a long period is prohibitively expensive. Except for BigPharma, and then the outcome is already predetermined. Because such expensive research must be recouped. And when doctors prescribe medicines, you never know whether it is good for you as a patient, or for the doctor's wallet: https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/2016/duitenvoordokters/
Fortunately, there are several serious studies that confirm a relationship between zinc deficiency and depression, such as this one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5751109/
Unfortunately, the average GP lacks good knowledge about nutrition, as they themselves admit: https://www.skipr.nl/nieuws/dokter-in-spe-leert-vrijwel-niets-over-voeding/ Quote: “Medical students receive an average of less than 30 hours of nutrition education during their six-year studies. Far too little, say general practitioners and interns, because nutritional advice is an increasingly important part of their work.”
So you shouldn't expect much from a GP in that regard. Too bad because Hippocrates regarded nutrition as an important tool for the physician. In fact, dietary measures play a central role in the Hippocratic Oath.
Yes Peter, doctors know too little about nutrition. Me, too. That is why we often refer to a dietician. And many newly marketed medications, for example antidepressants, are no better than the older ones but are 10-20 times more expensive. I never received doctor visitors who promoted new medications. Good for the economy!
In the source you mentioned https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5751109/ the following conclusion is stated:
7. conclusions
As noted in this review, irregularities in zinc homeostasis may represent a point of intersection for both the pathogenesis and the symptoms that characterize multiple neurodegenerative disorders, in addition to potentially also being involved in the aging process and associated cognitive decline. If zinc is indeed critical to such a breadth of conditions, then understanding how and why zinc levels change across age and/or prior to or during disease is key to providing the insight necessary to harness the therapeutic potential of zinc (and conversely, to avoid any complications arising from potential zinc toxicity). For example, do zinc levels change because of dietary insufficiency (or perhaps some other aspect of diet or a disease state that alters the absorption of zinc)? Is it due to an age- or disease-related change in zinc importer/transporter levels or function that alters the distribution of zinc? Or perhaps some other change in a different metal or aspect of the metalloproteome that adversely impacts zinc? Is there just one or multiple zinc signaling pathways that are impaired? All these questions and many more require thorough interrogation in order to optimize a zinc-based targeted therapy (eg, at what stage might zinc supplementation versus chelation be optimal in a given disease state; if it is supplementation, then bulk dietary modulation is sufficient, or is a more targeted pharmacological approach required?). Answers to these questions will ultimately need to be validated in a human clinical trial in order to gain the burden of proof necessary for the wide spread acceptance of zinc as a critical player, and therapeutic target, in disorders of the CNS. (CNS: Central Nervous System).
So there is still a lot of uncertainty, and the last sentence says that a 'clinical trial' is necessary, as I also noted. Too much zinc in the blood may also be harmful.
Dear Tino, Yes, more research is needed. But who pays for that? So that's a comment I can't deal with.
“Too much zinc is also not good.” Are we going to kick in open doors? No, you cannot live without water, but if you drink a lot of water at once, you will also die. So even water is poisonous in abnormally high doses.
In any case, zinc will be less toxic than Big Pharma's drugs. Medicines are now the number 3 cause of death: https://www.medischcontact.nl/actueel/laatste-nieuws/artikel/internist-gotzsche-medicijnen-zijn-de-derde-doodsoorzaak
Now you again….
Just an anecdote about the ignorance of general practitioners when it comes to supplements. I recently heard a doctor on Radar TV claim that a high vitamin C dose would give you kidney stones. A persistent monkey story that made me laugh. I have been taking a high dose of vitamin C for 20 years and have never had kidney stones. The two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling (there are only two people on earth who have ever won 2 Nobel Prizes) took an extremely high dose of vitamin C and lived to be 93 years old (without kidney stones).
Editorialism is still alive and well, even on hospital sites.
Another comment is here: https://www.gezondheidenwetenschap.be/gezondheid-in-de-media/doen-vitamine-c-supplementen-je-risico-op-nierstenen-stijgen and that says that if you have an increased risk of kidney stones, you should not take high doses of vitamin C. Because people are not put together in exactly the same way.
A high dose of vitamin C may reduce copper levels, although the effect appears modest.
A better known cause of copper deficiency is taking high doses of zinc, because zinc competes with copper for absorption.
Dear Kees, what you say is completely correct. But this applies to very high zinc supplementation over a longer period. Taking a good multi with different minerals is therefore the best advice
Zinc also does much more, which is certainly interesting for older men. The mineral stimulates testosterone production while inhibiting aromatase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen. As men age, testosterone levels decrease while aromatase increases. Zinc also counteracts chronic silent inflammation and supplementation therefore lowers the inflammatory marker CRP. See study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30012497/
Who should pay it? I am a fan of public institutes and research myself. Universities are often already the basis for all kinds of research, developments and inventions. If there is no profit motive, then there is little or no interest in appealing to the public. Profit in healthcare and the like is an unhealthy incentive.
Now me again, Peter. We almost agree. Doctors need to be more critical of Big Pharma. They have to prescribe less medicine and this applies even more to Thailand. When I was still a GP, more than half of the consultation visitors went home without medication but with explanation and advice. Good scientific research into the influence of zinc on the many neurological disorders is needed. Aim for good nutrition, then supplements are not necessary.
And then I'm going to write a story about what most determines life expectancy and healthy life years. Do you know what that is?
https://greekreporter.com/2023/08/03/mystery-longevity-ikaria-greece/
en
https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_pinker_the_secret_to_living_longer_may_be_your_social_life?referrer=playlist-what_s_the_secret_to_living_longer&autoplay=true
en
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness?referrer=playlist-what_s_the_secret_to_living_longer&autoplay=true
Totally agree, Peter, especially with the part about nutrition. I am convinced that good nutrition (and a healthy lifestyle) can prevent many ailments. The doctor falls into an awkward silence when the conversation turns to nutrition.
I am very concerned that in all city centers there is a lot of unhealthy food for sale in prominent places and very little healthy food. I wonder whether the government is making enough effort to turn the tide. That may help curb exploding health care costs. And possibly “healthy food and lifestyle” as a subject at school?
So you see that it is simply wise to eat a good piece of meat or fish every day!
I prefer to eat vegetarian, but not fanatically. The article says that zinc is also found in whole grains, nuts and legumes.
Ruudje, is that true? We have now discovered that meat and fish are not necessary, but they are a varied and healthy diet. Now I don't want to start a diet discussion here because I don't know much about it (and I also like meat or fish...) but the idea that eating meat or fish is necessary for a varied diet is really outdated.
As mentioned by Peter, Linus Pauling was “the” expert on vita C.
As a doctor, layman, virologist, etc., you really cannot ignore this.
I have been taking a decent dose of vita C and multivitamins for years.
It is claimed here that depression can cause a zinc deficiency.
That is correct, but are the methods used to determine whether there is a zinc deficiency correct?
I have suffered from unexplained fatigue in the past.
Through self-examination I discovered that vitamin B12 was the culprit in this case.
My GP was not open to referring me, so I took a different path.
This holistic doctor gave me a B12 injection because in this case the vitamin B12 pill did not help.
Problem solved, a matter of fine tuning, because when it really comes down to it, no one is the same, even though they like to tell us that.