Department of Preventive Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
Department of Health Sciences and Technology, GAIHST, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Aug;29(36):55058-55068. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-19250-7. Epub 2022 Mar 21.
Pterygium, one of the most common eye disorders, is an abnormal fibrovascular proliferation extending from the conjunctiva to the cornea. The mechanism of development in pterygium has not been fully elucidated; however, oxidative stress is suggested to be one of the major causes. Heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) enter the human body and induce oxidative stress. However, no study has investigated the association of these heavy metals with pterygium. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the associations of environmental exposures to Pb, Cd, and Hg with pterygium in the Korean general adults. We analyzed data from 6,587 adults (≥ 20 years of age) who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2008-2011. Pterygium was diagnosed as the presence of a wing-shaped fibrovascular growth. The exposures of Pb, Cd, and Hg were estimated by measuring blood concentrations. The prevalence of pterygium in this study population was 4.0% (348 subjects). After adjusting for potential confounders, the Pb level in blood was found to have a significant dose-dependent association with pterygium (p for trend = 0.001), and its highest quintile (vs. the lowest) had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.22 (95% CI: 1.30, 3.78) for pterygium. The Hg level in blood in the second quintile (vs. the lowest) had an OR of 1.64 (95% CI: 1.04, 2.59) for pterygium. In conclusion, this study suggests that environmental exposures to Pb and Hg in the Korean general adults may be related to the development of pterygium.
翼状胬肉是最常见的眼部疾病之一，是一种从结膜延伸到角膜的异常纤维血管增生。翼状胬肉的发病机制尚未完全阐明；然而，氧化应激被认为是主要原因之一。重金属如铅（Pb）、镉（Cd）和汞（Hg）进入人体并诱导氧化应激。然而，尚无研究调查这些重金属与翼状胬肉的关系。因此，本研究旨在评估韩国普通成年人环境中接触 Pb、Cd 和 Hg 与翼状胬肉的关系。我们分析了参加 2008-2011 年韩国国家健康与营养检查调查（KNHANES）的 6587 名成年人（≥20 岁）的数据。翼状胬肉的诊断为翼状纤维血管生长。通过测量血液浓度来估计 Pb、Cd 和 Hg 的暴露量。在本研究人群中，翼状胬肉的患病率为 4.0%（348 例）。在调整了潜在混杂因素后，血液中 Pb 水平与翼状胬肉呈显著剂量依赖性关联（趋势 P=0.001），其最高五分位（与最低五分位相比）发生翼状胬肉的比值比（OR）为 2.22（95%CI：1.30，3.78）。血液中 Hg 水平处于第二五分位（与最低五分位相比）发生翼状胬肉的 OR 为 1.64（95%CI：1.04，2.59）。总之，本研究表明，韩国普通成年人环境中接触 Pb 和 Hg 可能与翼状胬肉的发生有关。
