Zepf Florian D, Rao Pradeep, Runions Kevin, Stewart Richard M, Moore Julia K, Wong Janice Wy, Linden Maike, Sungurtekin Idil, Glass Franziska, Gut Linda, Peetz Dirk, Hintereder Gudrun, Schaab Michael, Poustka Fritz, Wöckel Lars
Centre and Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Western Australia.
Specialised Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Department of Health in Western Australia.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2017 Oct 17;13:2621-2630. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S137549. eCollection 2017.
Research has implicated that changes in zinc (Zn) metabolism may be associated with the biological underpinnings of eating disorders, in particular anorexia nervosa. However, to date research on the role of Zn in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) is scarce.
We aimed to explore serum Zn concentrations in young patients with BN, with a focus on the stage of the disorder, comparing acutely ill and recovered patients with BN with healthy controls.
Serum Zn concentrations were obtained from healthy controls and from acutely ill and remitted young patients with BN. Mean duration of remission was 4.0±3.5 years.
Remitted patients showed elevated serum Zn concentrations when compared to controls (Cohen's d=2.022), but concentrations were still in the normal range. Acutely ill patients also had higher serum Zn levels when compared to controls (all values still being within the reference range, Cohen's d=0.882). There was no difference between acutely ill and remitted patients with BN in serum Zn concentrations. Of note, remitted patients had a significantly higher body weight when compared to the other two groups. Overall, there were no significant differences in dietary preferences with regard to Zn containing foods between the groups.
The present study provides preliminary evidence that the underlying factors for changes in Zn serum concentrations in young patients with BN do not vary with regard to the stage of illness (acute versus remitted BN). Further prospective research is needed in order to disentangle the possible interplay between serum Zn status and bulimic eating behaviors.
研究表明锌（Zn）代谢的变化可能与饮食失调，特别是神经性厌食症的生物学基础有关。然而，迄今为止，关于锌在神经性贪食症（BN）患者中的作用的研究很少。
我们旨在探讨年轻BN患者的血清锌浓度，重点关注疾病阶段，将急性发病和康复的BN患者与健康对照进行比较。
从健康对照以及急性发病和康复的年轻BN患者中获取血清锌浓度。缓解的平均持续时间为4.0±3.5年。
与对照组相比，缓解患者的血清锌浓度升高（科恩d值=2.022），但浓度仍在正常范围内。与对照组相比，急性发病患者的血清锌水平也较高（所有值仍在参考范围内，科恩d值=0.882）。急性发病和缓解的BN患者的血清锌浓度没有差异。值得注意的是，缓解患者的体重明显高于其他两组。总体而言，各组之间在含锌食物的饮食偏好方面没有显著差异。
本研究提供了初步证据，表明年轻BN患者血清锌浓度变化的潜在因素在疾病阶段（急性与缓解的BN）方面没有差异。需要进一步的前瞻性研究来理清血清锌状态与贪食饮食行为之间可能的相互作用。
