title: [Plasma and erythrocyte zinc concentrations in elderly patients with and without senile cataract in a tertiary eye care center at Teresina-Piauí].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine plasma and erythrocyte zinc concentrations in elderly with and without senile cataract in a tertiary eye care center at Teresina-Piauí.
  
  
  METHODS
  A quantitative, transversal and controlled study was developed at the Hospital de Olhos Francisco Vilar, Piauí, Brasil. Fifty-six elderly subjects (37 females, 19 males) with no known conditions that modify zinc blood levels or increase risk of cataract were included. A score >II was used to define cataract, according to Lens Opacities Classification System II. Plasma and erythrocyte zinc concentrations were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Statistical tests included Student's t and chi-square tests, with a probability level of 0.05 as significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Senile cataract was present in 58.9% of the subjects. The most common type was nuclear (51.8%), followed by cortical (26.8%) and posterior subcapsular (8.9%). Zinc deficiencies in plasma (<70 microg/dL) and erythrocyte (<40 microg/gHb) were found in 49.1% and 30.4% of participants, respectively. There were no significant differences between elderly with or without cataract, regardless of type, in relation to plasma (p=0.165) or erythrocyte (p=0.426) zinc concentrations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Zinc deficiency in plasma or erythrocyte were common among the elderly. However, the data suggest that no significant differences exist between elderly with or without senile cataract, regardless of type, in relation to the referred parameters of zinc evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual do Piauí e pós-graduando, Nível Mestrado, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brasil. fabiosoares@msn.com
authors.forename: Fábio Martins
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Nadir do Nascimento
authors.initials: Ndo N
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Dilina do Nascimento
authors.initials: Ddo N
authors.lastname: Marreiro
authors.forename: Cecília Maria Resende Gonçalves de
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Semiramis Jamil Hadad do
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Monte
authors.forename: José Machado
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Moita Neto
authors.forename: Viviane de Sousa
authors.initials: Vde S
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Bárbara Verônica Sousa
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002386:Cataract / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc