Integrative Anthropological Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 13;19(22):14939. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192214939.
Many tribal populations are characterized by health disparities, including higher rates of infection, metabolic syndrome, and cancer-all of which are mediated by the immune system. Members of the Navajo Nation have suffered chronic low-level exposure to metal mixtures from uranium mine wastes for decades. We suspect that such metal and metalloid exposures lead to adverse health effects via their modulation of immune system function. We examined the relationships between nine key metal and metalloid exposures (in blood and urine) with 11 circulating biomarkers (cytokines and CRP in serum) in 231 pregnant Navajo women participating in the Navajo Birth Cohort Study. Biomonitored levels of uranium and arsenic species were considerably higher in participants than NHANES averages. Each biomarker was associated with a unique set of exposures, and arsenic species were generally immunosuppressive (decreased cellular and humoral stimulating cytokines). Overall, our results suggest that environmental metal and metalloid exposures modulate immune status in pregnant Navajo women, which may impact long-term health outcomes in mothers and their children.
许多部落群体的健康存在差异，包括更高的感染率、代谢综合征和癌症——所有这些都受到免疫系统的调节。纳瓦霍族成员几十年来一直遭受着铀矿废物中金属混合物的慢性低水平暴露。我们怀疑，这些金属和类金属暴露通过调节免疫系统功能导致不良健康影响。我们在参加纳瓦霍出生队列研究的 231 名怀孕的纳瓦霍妇女中，检查了九种关键金属和类金属暴露（血液和尿液中的）与 11 种循环生物标志物（血清中的细胞因子和 CRP）之间的关系。与 NHANES 的平均值相比，参与者体内的铀和砷种类的生物监测水平要高得多。每个生物标志物都与一组独特的暴露因素有关，而砷种类通常具有免疫抑制作用（降低细胞和体液刺激细胞因子）。总的来说，我们的结果表明，环境中的金属和类金属暴露会调节怀孕纳瓦霍妇女的免疫状态，这可能会影响母亲及其子女的长期健康结果。
