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Zn8.5
Zinc Research
Likely helps
637 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Likely helps
Zinc appears to help in 20 of 26 studies with measurable effects — the evidence leans clearly favourable.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 1976–2026 with a typical study size of 739 participants.
Based on 637 studies · 117 meta-analyses · 470 RCTs · 490,001 total participants
Confidence
High confidence
What the studies found
20helped6unclear· 611 more without graded effect data
Skin healthMay reduce inflammatory acne, mainly where zinc intake is low (oral) · 8-12 weeks · Supports wound healing, keratinocyte function, and reduces acne · 4-8 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational9 studies
Taste & smell
Mostly mechanism / observational9 studies
Cholesterol & lipids
Mostly mechanism / observational9 studies
Heart & blood pressure
Mostly mechanism / observational6 studies
Anxiety & stress
Mostly mechanism / observational5 studies
Men's vitalityEssential cofactor for testosterone synthesis; deficiency impairs hormones · 4-8 weeks · Cofactor for prostate function · 4-8 weeks · Cofactor for testosterone production · 4-8 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational4 studies
Fertility & reproductiveMay support reproductive health and fertility markers · 4-12 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational3 studies
Bone healthCofactor for bone formation enzymes and osteoblast activity · 8-12 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational3 studies
Focus & attention
Too few graded studies2 studies
Vision & eye health
Too few graded studies2 studies
Sleep & insomniaImproved sleep quality · 2-4 weeks · Zinc status linked to sleep quality and duration · 2-4 weeks
Too few graded studies2 studies
Energy & fatigue
Too few graded studies1 study
By the numbers
Pulled from 47 studies with measurable effects
Likely real effects
88%
across studies
People studied
490k
typical study: 739 people
Strongest designs
587
117 pooled, 470 randomised
Showed benefit
77%
20/26 studies
How long studies ran
1–3 months
3
3+ months
1
Populations Studied
Adults4
Pregnant women3
General population3
Various populations2
Steady research
109 studies in the last 5 years · Latest meta-analysis: 2026
197620012026
1Risk of malaria parasitaemiaMeta-AnalysisCited 5×n=1,339 · large study2023
Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to explore the potential effects of multi-nutrient supplementation and to identify more specific micronutrients and additional factors associated with the risk of malaria, rather than just zinc alone, among individuals in different malaria-endemic areas.
Kotepui M et al. · Nutrients (2023)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Could be chance
The effect sizes, represented as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were standardised by transforming them into log RRs and then pooling them using a fixed-effects or random-effects model depending on the heterogeneity across studies.
The meta-analysis revealed that zinc supplementation alone did not significantly affect the risk of malaria parasitaemia compared with placebo (p = 0.30, log RR = 0.05, 95% CI: -0.05-0.15, I2 = 0.00%, with 566 malaria cases in the zinc intake group and 521 malaria cases in the placebo group).
The findings of this systematic review indicate that zinc supplementation, either alone or combined with the supplementation of other micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, or multiple nutrients, does not significantly alter the risk of malaria parasitaemia.
2Lipid profile improvementMeta-AnalysisCited 14×n=1,067 · large study2023
Significant improvement was observed in all 4 lipid profile components.
Heidari Seyedmahalleh M et al. · Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) (2023)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
Significant improvement was observed in all 4 lipid profile components.
Following zinc supplementation, a significant decrease was observed in TC (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -16.16; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -26.43, -5.89; P = 0.002), LDL (WMD: -6.18; 95% CI: -9.35, -3.02; P < 0.001), and TG (WMD: -13.08; 95% CI: -21.83, -4.34; P = 0.003).
After analyzing 13 studies reporting HDL, a significant increase was seen (WMD: 3.76; 95% CI: 1.30, 6.22; P = 0.003).
3Pain severity reduction in primary dysmenorrheaMeta-AnalysisCited 2×n=739 · large study2024
Zinc supplementation is an effective and well-tolerated option for reducing pain severity in women with primary dysmenorrhea.
Hsu TJ et al. · Nutrients (2024)
Huge benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
Zinc supplementation significantly reduced pain severity compared to placebo (Hedges's g = -1.541; 95% CI: -2.268 to -0.814; p < 0.001), representing a clinically meaningful reduction in pain.
Meta-regression indicated that longer treatment durations (≥8 weeks) were associated with greater pain reduction (p = 0.003).
While higher zinc doses provided additional pain relief, the incremental benefit per additional milligram was modest (regression coefficient = -0.02 per mg; p = 0.005).
5Preterm birth risk reductionMeta-AnalysisCited 50×n=9,851 · very large study2021
There is not enough evidence that zinc supplementation during pregnancy results in improvements in maternal or neonatal outcomes.
Carducci B et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (2021)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
The evidence suggests that zinc supplementation may result in little or no difference in reducing preterm births (risk ratio (RR) 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74 to 1.03; 21 studies, 9851 participants; low-certainty evidence).
Further, zinc supplementation may make little or no difference in reducing the risk of stillbirth (RR 1.22, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.88; 7 studies, 3295 participants; low-certainty evidence), or perinatal deaths (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.51; 2 studies, 2489 participants; low-certainty evidence).
There is not enough evidence that zinc supplementation during pregnancy results in improvements in maternal or neonatal outcomes.
6Prevention of respiratory tract infectionsMeta-AnalysisCited 38×n=5,446 · very large study2021
In adult populations unlikely to be zinc deficient, there was some evidence suggesting zinc might prevent RTIs symptoms and shorten duration.
Hunter J et al. · BMJ open (2021)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Compared with placebo, oral or intranasal zinc prevented 5 RTIs per 100 person-months (95% CI 1 to 8, numbers needed to treat (NNT)=20, moderate-certainty/quality).
Sublingual zinc did not prevent clinical colds following human rhinovirus inoculations (relative risk, RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.21, moderate-certainty/quality).
On average, symptoms resolved 2 days earlier with sublingual or intranasal zinc compared with placebo (95% CI 0.61 to 3.50, very low-certainty/quality) and 19 more adults per 100 were likely to remain symptomatic on day 7 without zinc (95% CI 2 to 38, NNT=5, low-certainty/quality).
7Meta-AnalysisCited 158×n=451,723 · very large study2020
In addition, they further contribute to the ongoing discourse of choosing antenatal MMN over IFA as the standard of care in LMICs.
Oh C et al. · Nutrients (2020)
IFA supplementation showed notable improvement in maternal anemia and the reduction in low birthweight, whereas LNS supplementation had no apparent effect on outcomes; further research that compares LNS and MMN supplementation could help understand differences with these commodities.
For single micronutrient supplementation, improvements were noted in only a few outcomes, mainly pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (calcium), maternal anemia (iron), preterm births (vitamin D), and maternal serum zinc concentration (zinc).
These findings highlight that micronutrient-specific supplementation should be tailored to specific groups or needs for maximum benefit.
8Prevalence of zinc deficiency in IBDMeta-AnalysisCited 35×n=806 · large study2022
Clinicians in the field are advised to list zinc among trace elements to be monitored in serum.
Zupo R et al. · Nutrients (2022)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Pooled analyses by the IBD subgroup showed a total population of 1677 with CD, for an overall mean zinc deficiency prevalence of 54% and 95% confidence intervals (CI) ranging from 0.51 to 0.56, versus 41% (95%CI 0.38-0.45) in the UC population (n = 806).
The overall prevalence at meta-analysis was estimated at 50% (95%CI 0.48-0.52), but with high heterogeneity, I2 = 96%.
The risk of bias across selected studies was moderate to low.
Our analysis revealed that several key glycemic indicators are significantly reduced by zinc supplementation, particularly the FG in subjects with diabetes and in subjects who received an inorganic zinc supplement.
Wang X et al. · The American journal of clinical nutrition (2019)
Our analysis revealed that several key glycemic indicators are significantly reduced by zinc supplementation, particularly the FG in subjects with diabetes and in subjects who received an inorganic zinc supplement.
Together, these findings support the notion that zinc supplementation may have clinical potential as an adjunct therapy for preventing or managing diabetes.
This trial was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42018111838.
10Cardiometabolic risk factorsMeta-AnalysisCited 23×n=1,141 · large study2020
Thus, it appeared that zinc supplementation might be associated with a decrease in cardiometabolic risk factors contributing to a reduction in risk of atherosclerosis.
Khazdouz M et al. · Biological trace element research (2020)
Large benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Random- or fixed-effects meta-analysis method was used to estimate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI).
Meta-analysis showed that zinc supplementation significantly decreased plasma levels of triglyceride (SMD - 0.66, 95% CI - 1.27, - 0.06), very-low-density lipoprotein (SMD - 1.59, 95% CI - 2.86, - 0.31), and total cholesterol (SMD - 0.65, 95% CI - 1.15, - 0.15).
Similarly, zinc supplementation significantly decreased fasting blood glucose (SMD - 0.52, 95% CI - 0.96, - 0.07) and HbA1c (SMD - 0.64, 95% CI - 1.27, - 0.02).