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Sex Difference Between Trace Elements and Pulmonary Functions in Children

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Abstract

It has been defined that deficiency of trace elements plays an important role in the progression of asthma. However, the relationship between blood zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and magnesium (Mg) and pulmonary functions in children remains to be clarified. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuxi, China, and a total of 202 healthy children were recruited. The forced vital capacity volume (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the 1 s (FEV1) were measured. Blood samples were collected, and the levels of blood zinc, selenium, and magnesium were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Meanwhile, the concentrations of serum total IgE was also determined. The associations between trace elements and pulmonary functions were analyzed by multiple linear regression models. After stratified by sex, there was a positive association between blood Zn and pulmonary functions in boys. In addition, blood Zn was also negatively associated with serum total IgE concentrations in boys, but not in girls after adjusting for potential confounders. Our findings indicated that zinc deficiency was significantly related to children’s pulmonary functions and that screening of trace elements may be a potential solution to decrease the risks of asthma in children.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Medical Innovation Team of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. CXTDB 2017016), The Major Program of Wuxi health and Family Planning Commission (z201606), Wuxi Medical Talents (Grant No. QNRC071), The Youth project of Wuxi health and Family Panning Commission (Q201837), and The general Program of Nanjing Medical University (2016NJMU119).

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Author notes

  1. Zhenzhen Pan and Xiaojuan Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Respiratory, Wuxi Children’s Hospital, Wuxi, 214023, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenzhen Pan, Xiaojuan Zhang, Yu Hui, Hongxia Xiang, Qian Wang & Shiyao Xu

  2. Department of pediatric respiratory, Wuxi children’s hospital, No. 299-1 at Qingyang Road, Liangxi District, Wuxi, 214023, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China

    Ling Li

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  1. Zhenzhen Pan
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Correspondence to Ling Li.

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The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Wuxi Children’s Hospital, and the written informed consents were acquired from children’s parents.

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Pan, Z., Zhang, X., Hui, Y. et al. Sex Difference Between Trace Elements and Pulmonary Functions in Children. Biol Trace Elem Res 197, 405–410 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-02019-4

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