Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients and hypozincemia

Physiologic stresses have been reported to cause a lack of zinc. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a disorder that gives stress, including sleep deprivation or hypoxia. Therefore, it is predicted that the serum zinc level might be decreased in OSAS patients. We studied 16 patients with OSAS who underwent polysomnogram. Of the 16 cases of the OSAS group, 5 cases showed hypozincemia, whereas no cases showing hypozincemia were observed in the non-OSAS group. The χ2-test revealed P < 0.05. Although administration of zinc was not performed until the time of blood drawing, three of the four cases with hypozincemia showed improvement.