The relationship between serum lipid profile and selected trace elements for adult men in mosul city.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the correlations of the serum concentrations of copper, zinc, and manganese with lipid profile parameters of adult men in Mosul City, Iraq. METHODS The study included 51 apparently healthy adult men as a control group aged 34-62 years (group 1), and 31 hyperlipidemic patients aged 37-60 years (group 2). Trace elements copper, zinc and manganese were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. Concentrations of total cholesterol, triglyceride and high density lipoprotein cholesterol were determined using enzymatic method. Indirect serum concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were calculated via the Friedewald formula. Data were evaluated as mean and standard deviation by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test. RESULTS The results indicated that there is a significant lower level of serum zinc in hyperlipidemic patients compared with the control group, while copper and manganese showed no significant differences between the two groups. A significant negative correlation was found between serum zinc and total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and low/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio; while a significant positive correlation was found between serum zinc and high density lipoprotein cholesterol. In addition, a significant positive correlation between copper and triglyceride existed in the patient group, while the control group showed no such correlation. CONCLUSION Hyperlipidemia may possibly be related to a decrease in the level of serum zinc in hyperlipidemic adult men. The data also supports the concept that zinc supplementation might be useful in improving metabolic complications in subjects with hyperlipidemia.