He Huan, Zhang Zhan, Li Min
Department of Ultrasound, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Xi'an, China.
Front Pediatr. 2022 Oct 25;10:941651. doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.941651. eCollection 2022.
As a heavy metal, lead is a common toxic agent. Its accumulation in the body is harmful to physical health, particularly in children and adolescents. Studies have reported that folate may play a protective role in lead exposure. An association between serum folate concentrations (SFC) and blood lead levels (BLL) has been documented in adults, but studies in adolescents are limited. This study investigated the relationship between SFC and BLL in American adolescents. This cross-sectional study collected relevant data on both SFC and BLL of 5,195 adolescents in the NHANES database from 2007 to 2018. Multivariable linear regressions and smooth curve fittings were adopted to evaluate the correlation between BLL and SFC. After adjusting potential confounders, we found negative relationships between BLL and SFC [ = -0.0041 (-0.0063, -0.0019)], and the associations were significant in non-Hispanic Whites, Mexican Americans, and other races but not significant in non-Hispanic blacks ( = 0.139). Furthermore, the negative trends were significant in adolescents aged 16-19 years and females aged 12-15 years but insignificant in males aged 12-15 years ( = 0.172). Therefore, these findings provide a basis for future research on the mechanism of folate in regulating blood lead levels.
作为一种重金属，铅是一种常见的有毒物质。它在体内的蓄积对身体健康有害，尤其是对儿童和青少年。研究报告称，叶酸可能在铅暴露中起到保护作用。血清叶酸浓度（SFC）与血铅水平（BLL）之间的关联在成年人中已有记录，但青少年方面的研究有限。本研究调查了美国青少年中SFC与BLL之间的关系。这项横断面研究收集了2007年至2018年美国国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES）数据库中5195名青少年的SFC和BLL的相关数据。采用多变量线性回归和平滑曲线拟合来评估BLL与SFC之间的相关性。在调整潜在混杂因素后，我们发现BLL与SFC之间存在负相关关系[β = -0.0041（-0.0063，-0.0019）]，且这种关联在非西班牙裔白人、墨西哥裔美国人及其他种族中显著，但在非西班牙裔黑人中不显著（β = 0.139）。此外，这种负相关趋势在16 - 19岁的青少年和12 - 15岁的女性中显著，但在12 - 15岁的男性中不显著（β = 0.172）。因此，这些发现为未来研究叶酸调节血铅水平的机制提供了依据。
