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The Relationship between Serum Zinc Level and Severity of Melasma

Introduction: Melasma is an acquired, chronic, hyperpigmentation disorder which characterized by light-brown to bluish-gray macules and patches. Some researchers have reported an association between low serum zinc levels and various dermatological conditions including melasma. Zinc is one of the essential micronutrients known to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of melasma through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. To date, no research has been conducted to assess the relationship of serum zinc levels with the severity of melasma. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between serum zinc levels and disease severity in melasma patients Methods: This is an observational analytic studies using cross sectional design to assess the relationship between serum zinc levels and the severity of melasma in 30 melasma patients. MASI score calculation is done to assess the severity of melasma. Serum zinc levels was measured by Agilent 7700 Series Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometry (ICPMS). Results: The average serum zinc level in melasma patients with mild, moderate and severe melasma were 54.31 μg/dL, 53.56 μg/dL and 47 μg/dL respectively. Most of the melasma patients were in the age group 36-45 years (43.3%), with occupation as a laborer/farmer (56.7%) and the main predisposing factor due to sun exposure (36.7%). Centrofacial and malar patterns were seen in 80% and 20% of patients, respectively, and no mandibular patterns were found. Most types of melasma are epidermal types (80%), followed by dermal types (20%) and no mixed types were found. Conclusion: There was no significant relationship between serum zinc levels and the severity of melasma. This is the first study to assess the relationship between serum zinc levels with the severity of melasma, and can be a reference to conduct similar research with good methodological design.