Blood zinc, copper and manganese levels healthy adolescents in Islamabad

ABSTRACT

Blood zinc, copper and, manganese levels were studied in 170 healthy school children, aged 13 to 19 years, belonging to Chakshahzad area of Islamabad. The analyses were made by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer Shimadizu Model AA 670. The mean blood zinc level was 818 micro g/dl in boys, and 608 micro g/dl in girls. For copper, the mean blood level in boys was 89.8 micro g/dl in girls 81.9 micro g/dl. The mean blood managanese level in boys was 2.23 micro g/dl in girls 1.09 micro g/dl. The mean levels of zinc and manganese were significantly higher [P <0.001] in boys than in girls. No significant difference was found in the mean copper level between the two sexes. No significant correlation was found between any of the pair of trace elements studied