Deng Yu, Lin Xuechun, Zhou Jie, Li Mengchi, Fu Zhenmei, Song Dan
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Tongji Medical College, School of Public Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Front Neurosci. 2023 Apr 17;17:1180782. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1180782. eCollection 2023.
In this study, we investigated the relationship between serum lead levels and cognitive functioning in a sample of older adults in the US.
Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2013, a total of 768 older adults aged ≥60 years were included in the analysis. Lead concentrations in the whole blood samples were assessed using mass spectrometry. We used the immediate and delayed memory portions of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Word Learning Subtest (CERAD-WL), the Animal Fluency Test (AFT), and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) to assess the participants' cognitive performance. Using sample averages and standard deviations (SDs), we computed test-specific and global cognition z-scores. To assess the relationships between the quartiles of serum lead levels and cognitive performance, we built multiple linear regression models and adjusted for covariates, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, depressive symptoms, alcohol usage, and body mass index.
The average age of the participants was 69.6 (SD 6.6) years. Approximately half of the participants were women (52.6%), non-Hispanic white (52.0%), and had completed at least some college education (51.8%). The average serum lead concentration was 1.8 g/dL (SD 1.6) for these participants. The results of multiple linear regression using individuals in the lowest serum lead quantile as a reference group revealed that the serum lead level was not associated with test-specific (CERAD-WL, AFT, and DSST) or global cognitive z-scores.
In older adults, concurrent serum lead concentration is not related to cognitive performance. Early or continuous lead exposure may exert a greater effect on the etiology of accelerated cognitive decline with old age.
在本研究中，我们调查了美国老年人群样本中血清铅水平与认知功能之间的关系。
使用2011 - 2013年美国国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES），共有768名年龄≥60岁的老年人纳入分析。使用质谱法评估全血样本中的铅浓度。我们使用阿尔茨海默病词汇学习子测试注册联合会（CERAD - WL）的即时和延迟记忆部分、动物流畅性测试（AFT）以及数字符号替换测试（DSST）来评估参与者的认知表现。利用样本均值和标准差（SD），我们计算了特定测试和整体认知的z分数。为了评估血清铅水平四分位数与认知表现之间的关系，我们构建了多元线性回归模型，并对协变量进行了调整，包括年龄、性别、种族/民族、教育程度、抑郁症状、饮酒情况和体重指数。
参与者的平均年龄为69.6（标准差6.6）岁。大约一半的参与者为女性（52.6%），非西班牙裔白人（52.0%），并且至少完成了一些大学教育（51.8%）。这些参与者的平均血清铅浓度为1.8μg/dL（标准差1.6）。以血清铅最低四分位数的个体作为参照组进行多元线性回归分析的结果显示，血清铅水平与特定测试（CERAD - WL、AFT和DSST）或整体认知z分数无关。
在老年人中，同时期的血清铅浓度与认知表现无关。早期或持续的铅暴露可能对老年时加速认知衰退的病因产生更大影响。
