Study Suggests a Link Between Zinc and Anxiety

by | Oct 8, 2013 | 2011, Minerals, Zinc

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Those with anxiety had a 20.1% higher level of copper and 15.1% lower level of zinc.

Anxiety disorders are the most common class of psychiatric disorders in the US (1) and many other countries (2), yet frequently goes untreated (3). Anxiety is implicated in a number of psychiatric disorders, such as depression, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder (4). It affects approximately 30% of the US population (5). All of this results in anxiety costing billions of dollars each year (6).

Now a new study (7) suggests that zinc levels may play a role in anxiety. In the study, 38 individuals diagnosed with anxiety and 16 individuals without anxiety (control group) between the ages of 16 and 53 provided blood samples that were analyzed for zinc, copper, and antioxidant levels. If the patients were deficient, they were given supplementation for a minimum of 8 weeks. Unfortunately, the researchers did not define levels for “deficiency” and also did not state how much was supplemented to the patients they classified as deficient.

The researchers measured anxiety levels using a modified Hamilton Scale where the patients rated on a scale of 0-5 (5 being the most severe) a range of behaviors that included irritability and anger, lack of ability to focus/concentrate, racing thoughts, trouble sleeping, light sensitivity, migraines, OCD behavior, intrusive thoughts, overall anxiety, disorganization, panic, obsessive behavior, and overall anxiety.

Compared to the control group, individuals with anxiety had 20.1% higher plasma levels of copper (101.58 vs. 84.56 milligrams/deciliter, p = 0.0348), a 24.5% higher ratio of copper to zinc (1.42 vs. 1.14, p = 0.0493) and 15.1% lower zinc levels (74.47 vs. 87.69 mg/dL, p = 0.0294). After 8 weeks of zinc supplementation in those declared deficient, zinc levels increased by 24.6% (74.47 to 92.85, p = 0.0004)) while the ratio of copper to zinc decreased by 37.8% (1.42 to 1.03, p = 0.0033). Those patients classified as deficient and given zinc supplementation also saw a 31% decrease in anxiety according to the Hamilton Scale (3.05643 to 2.11176, p = 0.013).

When suggesting how zinc produced these decreases in anxiety, the researchers pointed to studies showing zinc to affect the levels of a nerve chemical called GABA (8) that plays a pivotal role in mood (9). For the researchers, “These results suggest an association between zinc blood levels and individuals with anxiety, demonstrate that zinc therapy is effective in increasing zinc plasma levels, and show that zinc supplementation may play a role in improved symptoms.”

Source: Russo, A. J. “Decreased zinc and increased copper in individuals with anxiety.” Nutrition and metabolic insights 4 (2011): 1.

© the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd. This is an open access article. Unrestricted non-commercial use is permitted provided the original work is properly cited.

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Posted September 27, 2013. 

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

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