Hypozincaemia after jejuno-ileal bypass.

Serum zinc, albumin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, calcium, and magnesium were measured in 39 jejuno-ileal shunt-operated patients. The binding of serum zinc to albumin and alpha 2-macroglobulin were calculated. The results demonstrate that the patients as a group had a highly significant hypozincaemia (P less than 0.001), caused by a reduction of the albumin-bound serum zinc (P less than 0.001). Furthermore, the patients showed hypocalcaemia (P less than 0.001) and hypomagnesaemia (P less than 0.001). The findings indicate that patients with jejuno-ileal bypass for gross obesity develop deficiency of the divalent cations.