Effect of Zinc Supplements on Preventing Upper Respiratory Infections in Air Force Academy Cadets in Basic Training
Abstract
Zinc plays a vital role in the functioning of the immune system. However, under stress, the presence of zinc is reduced. As a result, the immune system is less effective, and the body is more susceptible to illness. In military training and operations, oftentimes members of the Armed Forces are subjected to high levels of stress which can increase the susceptibility of soldiers to illness. To investigate this effect in healthy young subjects, a two month randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 57 cadets was implemented to evaluate zinc's effectiveness in reducing the risk of contracting upper respiratory infections (URIs). The primary objective for the study was to compare incidence of URIs between supplemented and non-supplemented groups. Post study data revealed no significant differences (p=0.53) between groups in terms of physician reported URI cases. However, the data suggest that stress may have played a key role as expected. Both mean plasma zinc levels decreased over time, albeit nonsignificantly, in both groups (p=0.20). However, there was a greater decrease in zinc values (20%) in the placebo group over that seen in the zinc supplemented group (14%). While administration of 20 mg/day of zinc gluconate did not change the incidence of URIs between groups, supplemented participants appeared to have lost less plasma zinc than their nonsupplemented counterparts. Higher levels of zinc may be warranted to confer a protective effect under more challenging immunological conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA497496
Entities
People
- Anneke Bush
- Candy Wilson
- Deborah Jones
- Donald Veverka
- Peter Kober
Organizations
- United States Air Force Academy