18
Views
6
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Copper and zinc in human serum in Norway

Relationship to geography, sex and age

, &
Pages 35-39 | Received 14 Apr 1981, Accepted 07 Sep 1981, Published online: 17 Mar 2010
 

Abstract

Serum samples were collected from the adult population, age groups from 20 to 54 years, in 11 different Norwegian municipalities and analysed for zinc and copper by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Significant differences were found between several of the municipalities when the mean concentration of zinc in serum in 200 randomized samples were compared, with only two municipalities being different for copper. The values for zinc ranged from 13.8 to 18.3 μmol/1 and copper varied between 16.3 and 19.2 μmol/1. An age related increase in the copper concentration was evident in the male population, and age-adjusted means showed a slight, but significantly higher serum copper concentration in females (18.4μmol/l) than in males (16.5 μmol/1). For zinc the opposite sex-relationship was indicated with the highest values in males, 15.8 compared to 15.1 μmol/1 in serum from females. No significant correlations were found between the concentrations of zinc and copper in serum. In all age groups of women, however, a small negative correlation was found giving a significant tendency.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.