The importance of dietary protein in the zinc deficiency of uremia.

The pathogenesis of zinc deficiency and its relationship to hypogeusia were studied in three chronic dialysis units in Toronto. The difference between low plasma zinc levels at two of the hospitals compared to the normal levels in the third hospital was significantly related to levels of dietary zinc intake which in turn was due to the levels of dietary protein intake. Thus one cause of zinc deficiency in chronic uremia is dietary protein deprivation.