Zinc content of human cancellous bone

The zinc content of cancellous bone from the iliac crest was determined by the X-ray fluorescence technique in an autopsy series of 28 women and 66 men. The bone-zinc content was statistically related to age, but there was a large variation. It reached a maximum value in the fifth decade and thereafter decreased with age in both sexes. Men with a chronic disease had a lower zinc content than those who had died suddenly. There was a significant correlation between the zinc content and the bone stregnth in women (p<0.01) and in men (p<0.05). Zinc is thought to play a part in osteoporosis. (author)