Vitamin and trace element status of women with disordered eating

We studied biochemical measures of vitamin B-6, zinc, and copper in a group of 96 women and vitamin A and vitamin E concentrations in 89 women, all suffering from an eating disorder. Twenty-three control subjects were studied. Eating-disorder patients not taking vitamin or mineral supplements had significantly higher plasma concentrations of vitamins A and E than did control subjects (also not taking supplements). No difference was found in indices indicating vitamin B-6 status or in plasma zinc or copper concentrations. Self-induced vomiting was the only significant predictor of upper-quartile vitamin A concentrations. Upper-quartile vitamin B-6 activations (indicating lower vitamin B-6 activity) were significantly predicted only by low actual body weight. These results suggest that supplementation of micronutrient intake needs only to be considered for those eating-disorder patients at low weight and then only with water-soluble vitamins.