title: Malnutrition induces dissociated changes in lymphocyte count and subset proportion in patients with anorexia nervosa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The effect of nutritional state on lymphocytes in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) was studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied total lymphocyte count (TLC), lymphocyte subsets, and nutritional markers [body mass index (BMI), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I)], and serum zinc concentration) in 33 patients with AN and 10 healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TLC positively correlated with BMI (r = .680, p < .001), IGF-I (r = .609 p < .001), and zinc (r = .589, p < .001). The CD4+ T-lymphocyte (CD4) proportion correlated negatively with BMI (r = -.301, p = .05) and IGF-I (r = -.346, p = .023), counteracting the effect of malnutrition on TLC. However, because this increase in CD4 proportion was weak, patients with very severe malnutrition (indicated by serum zinc less than 40 microg/dL) had critically low CD4 counts of less than 200 cells/microL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that lymphocyte counts and subset proportion change in an opposite manner in patients with AN, and that decrease in serum zinc levels is nutrition-related.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Endocrinology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan. hiroshisa@endm.twmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hotta
authors.forename: Kazue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015032:Zinc