Copper, magnesium, zinc levels tied to mortality

Zinc, copper and magnesium play a number of key roles in the body, for example in the immune response, inflammation and oxidative stress, Leone and her colleagues write in the research journal Epidemiology. To investigate the relationship between body levels of these elements and mortality, the researchers followed 4,035 men aged 30 to 60 for 18 years. During follow-up, 339 men died, including 176 from cancer and 56 from heart disease.


Men with the highest copper levels at the study's outset had a 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause, and a 40 percent greater risk of dying from cancer, compared to men with the lowest levels.

On the other hand, those with the highest magnesium levels had a 40 percent to 50 percent reduced risk of death compared to those with the lowest levels.

Low zinc levels along with high copper levels boosted mortality risk further; men with this combination were 2.6 times more likely to die during the follow-up period than those with low levels of both zinc and copper. Low zinc values combined with low magnesium levels contributed to an increased mortality risk.

Zinc stimulates intestinal production of metallothionein which, in turn, interferes with copper bioavailability.

The disease is treated with lifelong use of D-penicillamine or trientine hydrochloride, drugs that help remove copper from tissue, or zinc acetate, which stops the intestines from absorbing copper and promotes copper excretion. Patients will also need to take vitamin B6 and follow a low-copper diet, which means avoiding mushrooms, nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, liver, and shellfish.