Individuals with higher intakes of zinc and vitamin C also had lower C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate

TUESDAY, Dec. 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Higher dietary intake of zinc and vitamin C is associated with lower odds of severe COVID-19, according to a study recently published in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN.

Farzaneh Asoudeh, from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 250 recovered COVID-19 patients aged 18 to 65 years from June to September 2021 to examine the association between zinc and vitamin C intakes and the risk for disease severity and symptoms. Dietary intake was assessed using a 168-item food frequency questionnaire.

Forty-six percent of the participants had a severe form of the disease. The researchers found that individuals with a higher dietary intake of zinc had lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, including C-reactive protein (CRP) (13.6 versus 25.8 mg/L) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; 15.9 versus 29.3). Higher zinc intake was also associated with a lower risk for severe disease in a fully adjusted model (odds ratio, 0.43). After controlling for potential covariates, participants with a higher dietary vitamin C intake also had lower CRP (10.3 versus 31.5 mg/L) and ESR serum concentrations (15.6 versus 35.6) and lower odds of severe disease (odds ratio, 0.31). There was an inverse association observed between dietary zinc intake and COVID-19 symptoms, including dyspnea, cough, weakness, nausea and vomiting, and sore throat. A lower risk for dyspnea, cough, fever, chills, weakness, myalgia, nausea and vomiting, and sore throat was seen in association with higher vitamin C intake.

"Future prospective studies with a large sample size are necessary to further build on our findings," the authors write.

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