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Zn8.5
Zinc Research
Likely helps
634 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Likely helps
Zinc appears to help in 17 of 21 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 332 participants.
Based on 633 studies · 105 meta-analyses · 473 RCTs · 482,544 total participants
Confidence
High confidence
What the studies found
17helped4unclear· 612 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 / observational7 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 / observational4 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 40 studies with measurable effects
Likely real effects
92%
across studies
People studied
483k
typical study: 332 people
Strongest designs
578
105 pooled, 473 randomised
Showed benefit
81%
17/21 studies
How long studies ran
1–3 months
3
3+ months
1
Populations Studied
Pregnant women3
Adults2
Various populations2
General population2
Steady research
115 studies in the last 5 years · Latest meta-analysis: 2026
197620012026
1Lipid profile improvementMeta-Analysisn=1,067 · large study2023
In plain English: 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).
2Preterm birth risk reductionMeta-Analysisn=9,851 · very large study2021
In plain English: 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.
3Pain severity reduction in primary dysmenorrheaMeta-Analysisn=739 · large study2024
In plain English: 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).
4Prevention of respiratory tract infectionsMeta-Analysisn=5,446 · very large study2021
In plain English: 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).
5Prevalence of zinc deficiency in IBDMeta-Analysisn=806 · large study2022
In plain English: 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.
In plain English: 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.