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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2024

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Research

Association between multiple-heavy-metal exposures and systemic immune inflammation in a middle-aged and elderly Chinese general population

Authors: Linhai Zhao, Yanfei Wei, Qiumei Liu, Jiansheng Cai, Xiaoting Mo, Xu Tang, Xuexiu Wang, Lidong Qin, Yujian Liang, Jiejing Cao, Chuwu Huang, Yufu Lu, Tiantian Zhang, Lei Luo, Jiahui Rong, Songju Wu, Wenjia Jin, Qinyi Guan, Kaisheng Teng, You Li, Jian Qin, Zhiyong Zhang

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2024

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Abstract

Background

Exposure to heavy metals alone or in combination can promote systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate potential associations between multiple plasma heavy metals and markers of systemic immune inflammation.

Methods

Using a cross-sectional study, routine blood tests were performed on 3355 participants in Guangxi, China. Eight heavy metal elements in plasma were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Immunoinflammatory markers were calculated based on peripheral blood WBC and its subtype counts. A generalised linear regression model was used to analyse the association of each metal with the immunoinflammatory markers, and the association of the metal mixtures with the immunoinflammatory markers was further assessed using weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression.

Results

In the single-metal model, plasma metal Fe (log10) was significantly negatively correlated with the levels of immune-inflammatory markers SII, NLR and PLR, and plasma metal Cu (log10) was significantly positively correlated with the levels of immune-inflammatory markers SII and PLR. In addition, plasma metal Mn (log10 conversion) was positively correlated with the levels of immune inflammatory markers NLR and PLR. The above associations remained after multiple corrections. In the mixed-metal model, after WQS regression analysis, plasma metal Cu was found to have the greatest weight in the positive effects of metal mixtures on SII and PLR, while plasma metals Mn and Fe had the greatest weight in the positive effects of metal mixtures on NLR and LMR, respectively. In addition, blood Fe had the greatest weight in the negative effects of the metal mixtures for SII, PLR and NLR.

Conclusion

Plasma metals Cu and Mn were positively correlated with immunoinflammatory markers SII, NLR and PLR. While plasma metal Fe was negatively correlated with immunoinflammatory markers SII, NLR, and PLR.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Association between multiple-heavy-metal exposures and systemic immune inflammation in a middle-aged and elderly Chinese general population
Authors
Linhai Zhao
Yanfei Wei
Qiumei Liu
Jiansheng Cai
Xiaoting Mo
Xu Tang
Xuexiu Wang
Lidong Qin
Yujian Liang
Jiejing Cao
Chuwu Huang
Yufu Lu
Tiantian Zhang
Lei Luo
Jiahui Rong
Songju Wu
Wenjia Jin
Qinyi Guan
Kaisheng Teng
You Li
Jian Qin
Zhiyong Zhang
Publication date
01-12-2024
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18638-z

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