AUA 2007 - High Doses of Zinc Increase Risk of Urinary Complications

[Vampireness]

Oh yeah, I think the edit feature is removed in this thread......it seems to work in the other thread. Maybe, because it's an announce thread? I haven't checked. But, what a wonderful feature edit button was, so I don't have to post again to add/correct things I've said. Like this now lol

[Vampireness]

Yeah Carly, it doesn't make sense to just state out of nowhere, it's too high and not tell us how much lol

Plus 50mg is not TOO much according to those studies, enough to cause health risks.

I wish Jill would update us on how much is too much.

But, yeah alots of us are sensitive just like Vitamin C and some can take it and some can't etc same with Marshmallow Root and it's what works best for ya.

I see that you had UTIs since 20, have they subsided?

[carly2]

Where IS the edit feature? I also only saw your reply and not the one with Donna telling about the dosage. But then..we still don't know, as you said, what would cause urinary problems.

[carly2]

Nope. Just that Zinc is bad....a report without good informatoin, I've just ignored this.

Plus, I think 25mg to 50mg everyday isn't considered high.

I think you have the right idea..I will ignore too. yeah, i don't think we are taking a high dose. I'm just sensitive to everything I take, it seems like so..more info would have been better and more responsible.

[Vampireness]

The second quote was from there:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5560.html

What happened to the edit feature?....

[Vampireness]

I looked at the website. It also states, "Intakes of 150 to 450 mg of zinc per day have been associated with low copper status, altered iron function, reduced immune function, and reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins (the good cholesterol)."
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/cc/zinc.html

"The tolerable upper intake level (UL) for safety and health is 40 milligrams per day for adults."
"The U.S. RDA for zinc is 15 milligrams per day."

Because, our diet has to be customized I think most of us, don't get the correct intake of zinc. I know I don't and my nurse recommended 25mg of Zinc everyday.
Perhaps 50mg is higher than the tolerable level but it's not too high according to the website, you've pasted and others.

But, then again, the main question was, how much is too high according to the AUA 2007 meeting. We all know the previous studies and what they stated. What was needed was the new figure that's considered high enough to cause urinary complications.

Vampireness

[ICNDonna]

The Patient Handbook has a section showing daily requirements for the various minerals --- if you go to http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/vitamins.html#zinc you will find that only 11 mg is needed for a female and 8 mg for a male.

So yes, 25 to 50 milligrams would be considered very high.

Donna

[Vampireness]

Nope. Just that Zinc is bad....a report without good informatoin, I've just ignored this.

Plus, I think 25mg to 50mg everyday isn't considered high.

[carly2]

Did anyone ever find out how much zinc is bad?

[Vampireness]

Some response and further details on the Zinc would be good, like the dosage that's considered high, surprised that wasn't included in above report.

I take Zinc everyday at 25mg

[Claredale]

I would like to know as well. I take Zinc for my hairloss.

Tracey

[carly2]

How much zinc is considered a high dose? I take it every day..50 mg..fro some hair loss due to Elmiron and hypothrodism.

Thanks,
Carly

[icnmgrjill]

This week, the annual American Urological Association Conference is occurring. Though their coverage of IC is minimal this year (likely due to the BIG federal conference six months ago), they do have some fascinating new research studies that I'll share with you!

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High-Dose Zinc Increases Hospital Admissions Due to Genitourinary Complications

Aaron Johnson, MD, Alejandro Munoz, PhD, Justin Gottlieb, MD, David F Jarrard, MD. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Presented on May 19 2007

Introduction and Objective: Zinc is a common dietary supplement that is widely believed to have beneficial health effects. To assess the impact of high-dose supplemental zinc on genitourinary diseases, we analyzed a recent randomized trial comparing zinc, antioxidants, and their combination, to placebo for complications related to the genitourinary tract.

Methods: In a further analysis of the recent Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), we examined the data pool for primary ICD-9 codes given for hospital admissions related to urologic problems. AREDS randomized 3640 patients with age-related macular degeneration to one of four study arms [placebo; antioxidants (vitamin C, 500 mg; vitamin E, 400 IU, beta carotene 15 mg); zinc 80 mg; and antioxidant + zinc]. Statistical analyses using Fisher’s exact test were performed.

Results: We find a significant increase in hospital admissions due to genitourinary causes for patients taking zinc formulations compared to non-zinc formulations (11.1% vs 7.6%; p=0.0003). The risk was greatest for male patients (p=0.008; RR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.07-1.50). For the study group requiring admission (n=343), the most common primary ICD-9 codes included benign prostatic hyperplasia/urinary retention (BPH), urinary tract infection, urinary lithiasis, and renal failure. Comparing zinc to placebo, significant increases in urinary tract infections (p=0.004) were found, especially for females (2.3% vs. 0.4%, p=0.013; RR=5.77, 95%CI: 1.30-25.66). Admissions for urinary lithiasis approached significance in men taking zinc compared to placebo (2.0% vs 0.5%; p=0.061; RR=4.08, 95%CI: 0.87-19.10). There was no increase in prostate or other cancers with zinc supplementation. A significant decrease in prostate cancer diagnoses was seen in patients taking antioxidants when compared to placebo (p=0.049; RR=0.6, 95%CI: 0.49-0.86). Subgroup analysis reveals this finding was significant for men who smoked, but not in non-smokers.

Conclusions: Zinc supplementation at high levels results in increased hospitalizations for urinary complications compared to placebo. These data support the hypothesis that high-dose zinc supplementation has a negative effect on selected aspects of urinary physiology.