Objective: To assess whether zinc deficiency is associated with prehypertension (preHTN) in apparently healthy subjects. Design: Apparently healthy women and men, aged 20 to 60 years were enrolled into a case-control study. Individuals with and without preHTN were allocated into the case and control groups, respectively. Hypertension, liver disease, renal disease, smoking, pregnancy, diabetes, malignancy, hypernatremia, hypomagnesemia, medical treatment, and use of supplements containing zinc were exclusion criteria. PreHTN was defined by systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 120-139 mmHg and/or of 80-89 mmHg, respectively, and the zinc deficiency by serum zinc levels