Abstract
Copper and zinc are essential trace elements and nutrients, which have important roles in physiology and disease and as cofactors in many metabolic pathways. We established age- and gender-specific reference intervals for serum copper and zinc, with a large healthy pediatric population.
A total of 2115 clinically healthy children, 85.4% Caucasian, were enrolled: 1098 boys and 1017 girls 0.5–18y. Serum copper and zinc concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (analytical measurement range: 10–400μg/dl for each). Statistical analyses and related calculations were performed using the STATA Statistical software and R software.
There were no significant effects of gender or fasting status. For copper, but not zinc, there were significant differences in the reference intervals by age. Based on the central 95% and 95% confidence intervals, the resulting reference interval determined for serum zinc was 64–124μg/dl. The age-dependent reference intervals for serum copper were 75–153μg/dl for those <10.3y, 64–132μg/dl for those 10.3–12.5y and 57–129μg/dl for those >12.5y.
Our data defined reference intervals for serum copper and zinc in an American, clinically healthy, pediatric population.
► Pediatric reference intervals for serum copper and zinc were established with 2115 clinically healthy children. ► There were no significant effects of gender on serum copper and zinc. ► There were significant differences in the reference intervals by age, for copper, but not zinc.