High-Dose Zinc Lozenges May Reduce Duration of Cold Symptoms

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The full review is on www.medscape.com

High-dose, but not low-dose, zinc lozenges shorten the duration of the

common cold, according to the results of a

meta-analysis<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136969/pdf/TORMJ-5-51\

..pdf>reported

in the July issue of

*The Open Respiratory Medicine Journal*.

" A number of controlled trials have examined the effect of zinc lozenges on

the common cold but the findings have diverged, " writes Harri Hemilä, MD,

PhD, from the Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, in

Helsinki, Finland. " The purpose of this study was to examine whether the

total daily dose of zinc might explain part of the variation in the

results. "

To identify placebo-controlled trials assessing the effect of zinc lozenges

on common cold duration, Dr. Hemilä searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane

Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases. All of the

identified trials were analyzed together, and the low-dose zinc and

high-dose zinc trials were analyzed separately. The Fisher method was used

to combine the *P *values of the trials, and the inverse-variance method

allowed pooling of trial data.

*Open Respir Med J.*

2011;5:51-58.<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136969/pdf/TORMJ-5-51\

..pdf>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

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