SERUM ZINC CONCENTRATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY FROM THE BULGARIAN EXPERT CENTRE

PURPOSE. To evaluate serum zinc (Zn) concentration in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and its association with various demographic and clinical characteristics. METHODS. A single-center case-control study included 80 adults (40 HS patients and 40 age- and sex-matched controls) at the Bulgarian HS Expert Centre. HS patients were classified by disease duration, clinical phenotype, severity and comorbidities. Serum Zn concentration was defined as “hypozincemia” (<9 µmol/L), “normal” (9-18 µmol/L) and “hyperzincemia” (>18 µmol/L). RESULTS. Serum Zn concentration displayed a significant difference in patients and controls (mean rank: 47.64 vs 33.36, p=0.006). Hypozincemia was more common (p=0.02) in HS patients (84.6%). Serum Zn was significantly lower in Hurley stage III than in stage II (mean rank: 15.21 vs 26.34, p=0.002) and similarly, it was lower in severe HS than in moderate HS (mean rank: 17.3 vs 27.15, p=0.012) on the IHS4 scale. We found a significant negative correlation between hypozincemia and HS severity assessed by Hurley Stage (τc=-0.383, p=0.014) and IHS4 (τc=-0.343, p=0.022). No significant associations were found between serum Zn level and sex, smoking, HS family history, duration, or comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS. HS patients have significant hypozincemia compared to controls. A significant negative correlation between HS severity and hypozincemia was established.