Effect of serum zinc and copper levels on insulin secretion, insulin resistance and pancreatic β cell dysfunction in US adults: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2012.
AIM
To compare zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) levels in US adults with normoglycemia, prediabetes and diabetes, and study the association of serum Zn and Cu levels with pancreatic β cell insulin secretion, pancreatic dysfunction and insulin resistance in US adults with normoglycemia and prediabetes.


METHOD
Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA2) calculator was used to compute estimates of steady state β cell insulin secretion (HOMA2-B), peripheral insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-S), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and disposition index (HOMA-DI) in 804 adult individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2011-2012).


RESULTS
There was no significant difference between serum Zn and Cu levels among subjects with normoglycemia, prediabetes, and diabetes. After adjusting for multiple possible confounders, higher serum Zn concentrations were associated with lower β cell insulin secretion (HOMA2-B; p = 0.01) and lower insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; p = 0.04) in the prediabetic subjects. In normoglycemic group, higher serum Zn levels were associated with improved pancreatic function (HOMA-DI; P = 0.02). On the other hand, higher serum Cu levels were associated with increased β cell insulin secretion (HOMA2-B, P = 0.03) only in the subjects with prediabetes.


CONCLUSION
These findings support the need for further studies to investigate the role of trace elements in diabetes pathogenesis.
['Kant|Ravi|R|', 'Verma|Vipin|V|', 'Patel|Siddharth|S|', 'Chandra|Rashmi|R|', 'Chaudhary|Rahul|R|', 'Shuldiner|Alan R|AR|', 'Munir|Kashif M|KM|']
D000328:Adult D003300:Copper D005260:Female D049674:History, 21st Century D006801:Humans D007333:Insulin Resistance D000078790:Insulin Secretion D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009749:Nutrition Surveys D016896:Treatment Outcome D014481:United States D015032:Zinc
Zinc Copper Insulin resistance NHANES Prediabetes HOMA