Wang Yan, Zhang Keyi, Li Hao, Liu Si, Ying Linyao, Xiang Lu, Liang Na, Chen Liangkai, Xiao Lin, Luo Gang
Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China.
Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2025 Jan 1;289:117473. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117473. Epub 2024 Dec 6.
A relatively well-established link was observed between metal mixtures exposure and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the relationship between metal mixtures exposure and serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) concentrations, a valuable non-invasive biomarker of neurodegenerative diseases, in general adult populations remains understudied and unclear.
This study seeks to elucidate the potential impact of metal mixtures exposure on sNfL concentrations in a representative sample of U.S. general adults.
Twelve urinary metal levels, including barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), cesium (Cs), molybdenum (Mo), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), tin (Sn), strontium (Sr), thallium (Tl), tungsten (W) and uranium (U), were analyzed in U.S. general adults recruited from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after a simple dilution step. Urine samples are diluted with 2 % concentrated nitric acid (1:9). We employed a two-pronged approach, combining weighted quantile sum (WQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models, to examine the association between the multiple-metals effect and sNfL concentrations. Survey-weighted multivariate linear regression was used to explore the correlation between single-metal effect and sNfL concentrations.
With the increasing quartiles of log-transformed sNfL (log-sNfL) concentrations, the fourth quartile had a higher proportion of smokers and hypertensive individuals (P < 0.001). Cd (69.6 %) and Pb (8.9 %) were the primary drivers of the association between metal mixtures exposure and sNfL concentrations. Analysis of WQS and BKMR models showed a positive association between metal mixtures exposure and sNfL concentrations, especially in older, and male participants.
In the U.S. general adult, a significant correlation between metal mixtures exposure and increased sNfL concentrations was observed, and urinary Cd levels play a pivotal role in this positive correlation. Notably, stronger risk associations were observed among elderly, males, smokers, and hypertensive individuals. The results could be significant for detecting and tracking the beginning of neurodegenerative diseases early, as well as helping to pinpoint individuals at high risk.
金属混合物暴露与神经退行性疾病之间存在一种相对明确的联系。然而，在一般成年人群中，金属混合物暴露与血清神经丝轻链（sNfL）浓度（一种有价值的神经退行性疾病非侵入性生物标志物）之间的关系仍未得到充分研究且尚不清楚。
本研究旨在阐明金属混合物暴露对美国一般成年人代表性样本中sNfL浓度的潜在影响。
在2013 - 2014年国家健康与营养检查调查中招募的美国一般成年人中，通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP - MS），在经过简单稀释步骤后，分析了包括钡（Ba）、镉（Cd）、钴（Co）、铯（Cs）、钼（Mo）、铅（Pb）、锑（Sb）、锡（Sn）、锶（Sr）、铊（Tl）、钨（W）和铀（U）在内的12种尿金属水平。尿样用2%浓硝酸（1:9）稀释。我们采用了双管齐下的方法，结合加权分位数和（WQS）模型与贝叶斯核机器回归（BKMR）模型，来研究多种金属效应与sNfL浓度之间的关联。使用调查加权多元线性回归来探索单一金属效应与sNfL浓度之间的相关性。
随着对数转换后的sNfL（log - sNfL）浓度四分位数的增加，第四四分位数中吸烟者和高血压患者的比例更高（P < 0.001）。镉（69.6%）和铅（8.9%）是金属混合物暴露与sNfL浓度之间关联的主要驱动因素。WQS和BKMR模型分析表明，金属混合物暴露与sNfL浓度之间存在正相关，尤其是在老年和男性参与者中。
在美国一般成年人中，观察到金属混合物暴露与sNfL浓度升高之间存在显著相关性，尿镉水平在这种正相关中起关键作用。值得注意的是，在老年人、男性、吸烟者和高血压患者中观察到更强的风险关联。这些结果对于早期检测和追踪神经退行性疾病的起始可能具有重要意义，同时有助于确定高危个体。
