THE EVALUATION OF ZINC, COPPER, AND SELENIUM TEST RESULTS IN GERIATRIC PATIENTS: THE FIVE-YEAR EXPERIENCE

Introduction: People aged 65 and above constitute 9% of the world‘s population and 9.1% of the population in Türkiye. Age-related changes in trace element content occur. In the present study, researchers aimed to evaluate the zinc, copper, and selenium test results in geriatric patients. Material and Methods: Data on geriatric patients’ serum zinc, copper, and selenium tests between 01/02/2019 and 28/02/2024 were acquired from the laboratory information system at Ankara Bilkent City Hospital. Zinc and copper tests were performed using the Shimadzu AAS 7000 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer device, and selenium tests were performed using the Agilent 7700 Inductively Coupled Plasma—Mass Spectrometer device. Patients aged 65 and over were evaluated in age groups (youngest-olds: 64 to 74 years, middle-olds: 75 to 84 years, and oldest-olds: 85 years and over), gender, and preliminary diagnoses. Diagnoses were presented with International Classification of Diseases codes. Results: 4231 zinc, 2180 copper, and 135 selenium test results were evaluated. Zinc levels grouped according to reference ranges showed a statistically significant difference among age intervals (p < 0.001), while no statistically significant differences were observed for copper tests (p = 0.790) and selenium tests (p = 0.700). Age intervals of copper showed a statistically significant difference among genders (p = 0.019), while no statistically significant differences were observed for zinc (p = 0.657) and selenium (p = 0.326) tests. Conclusion: We evaluated zinc, copper, and selenium levels in geriatric patients according to different age groups, ICD codes, and gender. Our findings may serve as a useful reference for future research. Keywords: Zinc; Copper; Selenium; Trace Elements; Aging; International Classification of Diseases.