Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To report the rational, design, recruitment, baseline characteristics and preliminary overview of volunteers in the ZENITH study.
DESIGN
A multicentre prospective intervention study employing a randomised double-blind design.
SETTING
Clermont-Ferrand, Theix (France), Coleraine (Northern Ireland), Grenoble (France), Rome (Italy).
PARTICIPANTS
Healthy men and women middle-aged (55-70 y) and older volunteers (70-87 y).
INTERVENTIONS
At baseline (prior to zinc (Zn) supplementation), all volunteers underwent a full clinical examination, anthropometric measurements, health and lifestyle questionnaire, Mini Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale, and biochemistry profile.
RESULTS
In total, 842 volunteers (378 men and 464 women) were invited to take part in the study. A total of 49% of these volunteers were excluded on the basis of inclusion/exclusion criteria. In total, 433 participants were admitted to the Zn supplementation for 6 months. During this period, about 10% of volunteers dropped out from the study.
CONCLUSIONS
A total of 387 subjects (197 male and 190 female subjects) successfully completed the supplementation phase of the ZENITH study.
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