65 zinc absorption in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus assessed by whole-body counting technique.

The gastrointestinal absorption of zinc was measured in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The concentration of zinc in serum was similar to healthy individuals. However the urinary excretion rate of zinc relative to the creatinine excretion, was approximately doubled (p less than 0.001) in the diabetics. The absorption of 65Zn tended to be lower in diabetics, but did not reach the level of statistical significance (retention percent 30.6 versus 42.6 (p greater than 0.10). A hypothesis of intracellular zinc depletion with time in insulin-dependent diabetics is proposed.