Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41275064›Full record

ArticleBiological trace element research2026

Comparison of Mineral Levels in Blood and Hair Samples of Healthy Adults: Evaluating the Clinical Utility of Hair Mineral Analysis.

Alex Shahverdian, Simin Torabzadeh, David Watts, Steffen Porwollik, Monica Padilla, Jeong Su Lee, Gabriella Perez, Mahtab Jafari

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Biological trace element research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Immunometabolic Remodeling in Ischemic and Non-Ischemic Heart Failure.Journal of cardiovascular translational research · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Alex ShahverdianDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Simin TorabzadehDepartment of Medicine, General Internal Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
David WattsTrace Elements, Incorporated, Addison, TX, USA.
Steffen PorwollikDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Monica PadillaDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Jeong Su LeeDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Gabriella PerezDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Mahtab JafariDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. mjafari@hs.uci.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Minerals play vital roles in human physiology and immunity. Their tightly regulated levels in the human body can be easily measured in blood, but that only provides a snapshot of the mineral status at the time of collection. In contrast, human hair accumulates minerals over time and is less invasive to collect and store. This pilot study compared mineral levels in blood and scalp hair of generally healthy adults to determine whether hair can accurately detect clinically relevant mineral imbalances and evaluate whether a relationship exists between blood and hair measurements. Minerals tested included calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, iron, and selenium. Correlation, linear regression, and agreement analyses were performed before and after statistical outlier removal. A total of 30 subjects (mean age: 69.8 years) participated in the study. Most minerals displayed no significant correlation between hair and blood values. However, a weak but significant inverse correlation between blood and hair was identified for phosphorus (p = 0.044 in correlation and linear regression analyses). Linear regression analysis before outlier removal also suggested a significant direct correlation of blood and hair values for zinc (p = 0.0315), but not after outlier removal (p = 0.2682). Agreement between mineral status in blood and hair (low, normal, high, based on established reference ranges) was non-significant for all minerals tested. In conclusion, a significant relationship between blood and hair mineral concentrations was not established. However, the distinct hair mineral analysis results suggest a unique clinical utility for long-term trends and imbalances.

Indexed as

HairMineralsAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsZincMineralsZincBlood mineral analysisHair mineral analysisHealthcareMedicationMineral imbalance

Identifiers

PMID41275064
PMCPMC12992362

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.