The effects of zinc supplementation on serum zinc concentration and protein catabolic rate in hemodialysis patients.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To examine the effect of zinc sulfate supplementation on serum zinc concentrations and protein catabolic rate (PCR) in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 15 women were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

Outpatient dialysis center in a large metropolitan city.

Twenty-eight maintenance HD patients were selected.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

The women were allocated by chance, so the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the women and researchers unaware of who received Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc could be set against what happens without it.

Twenty (15 women, 5 men) subjects completed the study.

In addition, patients completed a 2-day food record representative of 1 dialysis day and 1 nondialysis day.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Diet Records, Dietary Proteins, Dietary Supplements, Energy Intake, Kidney Failure, Chronic, Nutritional Status and Proteins.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 15 women.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 8 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2000 (Journal of renal nutrition : the official journal of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.