Vogel-González, MarinaTalló Parra, Marc, 1992-Herrera-Fernández, VíctorPérez Vilaró, Gemma, 1985-Chillón, MiguelNogués Solan, Francesc XavierGómez-Zorrilla, SilviaLópez Montesinos, InmaculadaArnau-Barrés, IsabelSorli Redó, M. LuisaHorcajada Gallego, Juan PabloGarcía-Giralt, NataliaPascual Santos, JulioDíez Antón, Juana, 1962-Vicente García, Rubén, 1978-Güerri Fernández, Roberto2021-03-102021-03-102021Vogel-González M, Talló-Parra M, Herrera-Fernández V, Pérez-Vilaró G, Chillón M, Nogués X et al. Low zinc levels at admission associates with poor clinical outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nutrients. 2021 Feb 9;13(2):562. DOI: 10.3390/nu130205622072-6643http://hdl.handle.net/10230/46719Background: Zinc is an essential micronutrient that impacts host-pathogen interplay at infection. Zinc balances immune responses, and also has a proven direct antiviral action against some viruses. Importantly, zinc deficiency (ZD) is a common condition in elderly and individuals with chronic diseases, two groups with an increased risk for severe severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. We hypothesize that serum zinc content (SZC) influences COVID-19 disease progression, and thus might represent a useful biomarker. Methods: We ran an observational cohort study with 249 COVID-19 patients admitted in Hospital del Mar. We have studied COVID-19 severity and progression attending to SZC at admission. In parallel, we have studied severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) replication in the Vero E6 cell line modifying zinc concentrations. Findings: Our study demonstrates a correlation between serum zinc levels and COVID-19 outcome. Serum zinc levels lower than 50 µg/dL at admission correlated with worse clinical presentation, longer time to reach stability, and higher mortality. Our in vitro results indicate that low zinc levels favor viral expansion in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. Interpretation: Low SZC is a risk factor that determines COVID-19 outcome. We encourage performing randomized clinical trials to study zinc supplementation as potential prophylaxis and treatment with people at risk of zinc deficiency.application/pdfeng© 2021 by Marina Vogel-González et al. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Zinc en l'organismeCOVID-19 (Malaltia)info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13020562info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess