Correlation between serum zinc and testosterone: A systematic review.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review composed predominantly of animal studies (30/38) and non-randomized or mixed clinical studies (8/38).
PubMed 36577241 · doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.127124
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review searching databases for studies evaluating the influence of zinc on serum testosterone in males. The review synthesized evidence on dietary zinc deficiency and zinc supplementation, ultimately including 38 papers (8 clinical studies and 30 animal studies).
What was found
No quantitative data or effect sizes are reported in the abstract. The authors qualitatively report that zinc deficiency reduces serum testosterone concentrations and zinc supplementation increases them. The magnitude of effect was noted to vary based on baseline zinc and testosterone levels, zinc formulation, elemental dose, and intervention duration.
Why it matters
The review summarizes preclinical and clinical literature indicating that adequate zinc status supports normal androgen production in males.
Limits
The abstract provides no numerical data, confidence intervals, or meta-analytic pooling. Most included evidence comes from animal models (30 of 38 studies), and the specific designs, sample sizes, and risk of bias for the 8 human studies are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- partial Deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, or vitamin D can cause a deterioration in testosterone levels of over 100 ng/dL depending on severity.