Covariation of Zinc Deficiency with COVID-19 Infections and Mortality in European Countries: Is Zinc Deficiency a Risk Factor for COVID-19?

Variables responsible for the differential COVID-19 pandemic severity among countries remain undefined. Zinc, a micronutrient required for immunocompetence, is found deficient in populations. We hypothesized the differential COVID-19 severity observed among European countries could be associated with the Zn-deficiency prevalence. The COVID-19 data from different stages of pandemic, i.e ., 8 April, 12 and 26 May 2020, were analyzed for covariation with the estimated Zn-deficiency. A significant, relatively stable, but negative correlation of Zn-deficiency with cases per million for the time period [ r (20): -0.4930 to -0.5335, p -value: 0.02720 to 0.0154] and a steady improvement of covariation with deaths per million [ r (20): -0.4056; p -value: 0.0760 on 26 May 2020] was observed. Considering, Zinc’s key immunomodulatory role, widespread deficiency along with the self- and prescribed intervention in different target groups, e.g. children, women, elderly, carefully planned dedicated exploratory studies to understand the basis of the observed association are advisable.