Table 1.

Laboratory and biochemical parameters of study subjects

	Males n = 57	Females n = 53	p value
Age (years)	72.2 ± 6.5	71.9 ± 6.9	NS
WBC (103/μL)	6.3 ± 1.7	6.4 ± 1.3	0.02
Lymphocytes (%)	29.6 ± 7.6	32.3 ± 6.7	0.044
Neutrophils (%)	58.4 ± 8.1	53.7 ± 5.8	0.002
Monocytes (%)	7.2 ± 1.5	7.0 ± 1.8	NS
Erythrocytes (106/μL)	4.9 ± 0.4	4.5 ± 0.4	0.001
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	15.2 ± 1.2	14.1 ± 1.2	0.001
AST (U/L)	25.0 ± 6.8	21.8 ± 8.4	0.036
ALT (U/L)	33.0 ± 11.9	30.3 ± 13.1	NS
Creatinine (mg/dL)	1.02 ± 0.18	0.88 ± 0.2	0.001
CRP (pg/mL)	0.48 ± 0.69	0.36 ± 0.31	NS
Albumin (g/dL)	4.1 ± 0.24	4.0 ± 0.22	0.047
Glycemia (mg/dL)	96.8 ± 11.0	96.4 ± 14.6	NS
TG (mg/dL)	119.4 ± 59.6	131.9 ± 55.2	NS
TC (mg/dL)	211.4 ± 28.2	233.5 ± 45.6	0.001
HDL-C (mg/dL)	48.5 ± 28.2	55.5 ± 16.4	0.008
AGEs (ng/mL)	1.51 ± 0.63	1.34 ± 0.56	0.166
ROS (MFI)	15.3 ± 12.6	12.0 ± 11.8	0.201
pSOD (U/mL)	21.74 ± 3.34	21.13 ± 2.60	0.367
GPx (nmol NADPH/min/mL)	0.099 ± 0.004	0.100 ± 0.007	0.930
CAT (μmol/min/mg prot)	21.47 ± 2.61	21.07 ± 2.97	0.528
Zn plasma levels (μM)	10.67 ± 2.39	10.85 ± 2.45	0.734
Zn granulocytes (nmol/mg protein)	0.21 ± 0.13	0.20 ± 0.11	0.718
MT (MFI)	98.2 ± 40.8	82.5 ± 31.2	0.161
iZnL	1.24 ± 0.10	1.29 ± 0.10	0.035; 0.070a
iZnR	0.17 ± 0.04	0.18 ± 0.09	0.410
Zinc score	130 ± 57	121 ± 51	0.020; 0.030a

Data are mean ± SD

WBC white blood cells, AST aspartate aminotransferase, ALT alanine aminotransferase, CRP C-reactive protein, TG triglycerides, TC total cholesterol, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, AGEs advanced glycation end-products, ROS reactive oxygen species, pSOD plasma superoxide dismutase, GPx glutathione peroxidase, CAT catalase, MT metallothioneins, iZnL intracellular labile zinc, NO-iZnR-induced release of zinc

^aComparisons between males and females were performed by ANCOVA analysis adjusting for age and country and lipid profile