title: Association of zinc deficiency and depression in the patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression is a common psychological symptom in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. In the general population, low serum zinc level is associated with major depression. The current study surveys the possible relationship between the prevalence of depression and plasma level of zinc in patients on hemodialysis (HD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 135 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on HD were enrolled in the study. The severity of depression was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Plasma zinc level was measured from fasting samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age of the patients was 52.45 (standard deviation: 15.33) years. In all, 76% of the patients had some degree of depression according to BDI scoring system (BDI >14). The mean level of plasma zinc in the depressed patients was significantly lower than the rest of the patients (67.46 ± 29.7 vs. 85.26 + 40.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Zinc deficiency may be a reversible cause which might contribute to the increased rate of depression in HD patients. This is the first study reporting the association of zinc deficiency with the presence of depression in HD patients; therefore, these findings need further investigations.
authors.affiliation: Urology Nephrology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamshid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roozbeh
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharifian
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghanizadeh
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahraian
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sagheb
authors.forename: Sanaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shabani
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamidian Jahromi
authors.forename: Mansoor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashfi
authors.forename: Raha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Afshariani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000523:psychology*; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc