Plasma Zinc Level in Hepatitis C Patients With or Without Beta Thalassemia Major; Is There Any Difference?

Background: zinc deficiency has been reported frequently in hepatitis c patients in the literature. furthermore, a decrease in zinc level has been shown in beta thalassemia major as well. iranians consume a large amount of phytate in their regimens which can bind with zinc and decrease its gastrointestinal absorption.objectives: this study was designed to determine plasma zinc level in an iranian sample with the diagnosis of hepatitis c with or without concomitant beta thalassemia major.patients and methods: between april 2011 and april 2012, plasma zinc level was determined via atomic absorption method, in 130 hepatitis c patients with or without beta thalassemia major in a known referral center of hepatic diseases in tehran, iran.results: mean ± standard deviation (sd) of plasma zinc levels was determined as 0.78 ± 0.22 mg/l. also zinc level was 0.76 ± 0.19 mg/l and 0.80 ± 0.24 mg/l in thalassemic and non thalassemic patients, respectively. t-test analysis showed that there is no significant difference between these two groups regarding plasma zinc level (p = 0.235).conclusions: it is concluded that zinc level of studied patients is less than which is reported in normal iranian population. moreover, there is not a significant difference in plasma zinc levels between thalassemic and non thalassemic patients and it seems to be a common problem in both ones. addition of zinc supplement may be recommended in both groups in order to optimize the nutritional support and probably improve the treatment response.