Zinc → Cognitive performance
Higher Zinc moves Cognitive performance only in some conditions. Read the mechanism.
Maylor 2006 found that 15 or 30 mg of zinc a day for six months had a mixed effect on Cambridge tasks in 387 healthy adults aged 55 to 87: one spatial working-memory score moved at three months, and 15 mg worsened one attention score. de Vargas 2023 saw higher Mini-Mental and Stroop scores on 30 mg in 32 overweight women.
Randomized trial · Contested · N=387
Supported by an experiment or a tightly identified design. Read the caveats.
Mechanism
Authors treat zinc as a trace metal that might help attention or memory. They do not isolate one enzyme. Maylor, Simpson, Secker and colleagues assigned 387 healthy adults aged 55 to 87 to 0, 15, or 30 mg a day for six months (ZENITH). Younger adults beat older adults on every task. Two of eight outcomes showed a time-by-dose interaction: spatial working memory favored both zinc doses at three months only, and 15 mg hurt one attention score. de Vargas, Jantsch, Fontoura and colleagues assigned 42 overweight or obese women aged 40 to 60 to 30 mg a day or placebo for twelve weeks. 32 were analyzed. Mini-Mental and Stroop scores were higher on zinc. Anxiety and depression scales did not differ. Weight did not change.
Caveats
Researchers assigned people to a salt or a control, so this is a trial stamp. Task and dose split. More papers of the same design do not settle the claim. ZENITH is healthy older adults and mostly practice plus two mixed interactions. de Vargas is 32 completers and no weight change. This is a journal entry, not medical advice and not a reason to take zinc for memory.
Effect
qualitative. Maylor 2006 ZENITH: 15 or 30 mg, 6 mo, N=387 age 55-87. Spatial WM up at 3 mo; 15 mg attention down. de Vargas 2023: 30 mg, 12 wk, 32/42 overweight women, MMSE/Stroop vs placebo.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Zinc → Cognitive performance.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-zinc-cognition (atlas updated 2026-09-02).
Papers
- Effects of zinc supplementation on cognitive function in healthy middle-aged and older adults: the ZENITH study.
EA Maylor, EE Simpson, DL Secker, N Meunier, M Andriollo-Sanchez, A Polito, B Stewart-Knox, C McConville · 2006 · The British journal of nutrition
- Effects of Zinc Supplementation on Inflammatory and Cognitive Parameters in Middle-Aged Women with Overweight or Obesity.
LDS de Vargas, J Jantsch, JR Fontoura, GP Dorneles, A Peres, RP Guedes · 2023 · Nutrients