Zinc fights off pneumonia in the elderly
American researchers have found that elderly people with higher levels of the mineral zinc, are less prone to pneumonia and the flu.
“Not only did people with lower zinc concentrations have a higher risk of developing pneumonia, when they did become sick, they did not recover as quickly and required a longer course of antibiotics,” said lead author of the study, Dr Simin Meydani, director of the nutritional immunology laboratory at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing.
Researchers looked at 617 people over the age of 65 in 33 nursing homes. A high proportion of residents already had low zinc levels.
Over 12 months, they found subjects with normal zinc levels required fewer prescriptions and were 50% less likely to develop pneumonia. Those that did develop pneumonia with normal levels of zinc, required a shorter course of antibiotics and were sick for a shorter period of time.
“Zinc is already known to strengthen the immune system, however, there needs to be further investigation of zinc and its effect on pneumonia development and prevention in nursing homes. The next step would be a clinical trial,” Dr Meydani said.
The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
