Determınatıon of serum reference intervals for zinc and copper

Metin Demirel; Şahabettin Selek; Tuğçe Yildiz; Rana Sönmez; Ayşe Zehra Gül

Metin Demirel Health Sciences Institute, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
Şahabettin Selek Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
Tuğçe Yildiz Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
Rana Sönmez Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
Ayşe Zehra Gül Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey

Keywords: zinc, copper, reference interval, pregnancy, trace elements

Abstract

Zinc and copper are among the essential trace elements that have important roles in metabolism. These trace elements are also involved in developing and regulating female sex hormones. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the reference interval of copper and zinc elements, which have antagonistic relations with each other, in pregnant women, healthy women, and men. By direct sampling method, 120 women (60 pregnant and 60 non-pregnant) and 120 men were included in the study group. The reference interval was evaluated according to the parametric distribution, and the affair between zinc, copper, albumin, estradiol, and ceruloplasmin was evaluated by partial least squares analysis. Serum zinc and copper reference intervals in pregnant women were measured as 69.23–101.15 (µg/dL) and 79.01–193.34 (µg/dL), respectively. In non-pregnant women, serum zinc and copper reference intervals were measured as 66.40–104.67 (µg/dL) and 73.60–148.87 (µg/dL), respectively. According to the structural equation modeling, we determined that serum copper and zinc changed in the effect of estradiol and albumin. As a result, it was determined that it is important to consider albumin levels while investigating the reference interval of zinc and copper during pregnancy.