Mixed metal exposures measured from toenail in relation to mini-mental state examination scores in the Normative Aging Study
Year: 2020
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background:The epidemiologic evidence between environmental exposures and cognition has focused primarily on the increased risk of singular offenders and, until recently, statistical approaches to adequately assess the potential synergies or competitive effects of multiple exposures, which could have a significant impact on the drastically increasing aging population in the world, were lacking.Methods:In this study, we used biomarkers of mixed metal exposures including lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) in toenails to determine the association with cognition as measured via the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in a group of 560 elderly men participating in the Normative Aging Study. We analyzed the association between the metals and MMSE using individual linear regression, multiple regression without interactions, and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR). BKMR was used to identify the potential for synergisms and interactions within the mixture in relation to MMSE. We adjusted our analyses for how many times a participant had taken the MMSE, alcohol consumption, age,education years, smoking, and fish consumption. MMSE was negative transformed, so a positive beta value was reflective of worse cognition.Results:Among the men (73±7) in our population log toenail Pb (Beta: 0.16 95% CI:0.11,0.21) and log toenail Hg (Beta: -0.24 95% CI:-0.33,-0.16) showed significant first order associations with MMSE after adjustment. In our BKMR analysis, we identified overall negative trends between MMSE and the Pb, Mn, Cd, and As mixture with Hg showing positive effects on MMSE, and with positive interactions occurring between Mn and Hg, Cd and Hg, and As and Mn.Discussion:These results, using a mixture approach, suggest that potential interactions may be operating in the relationships between correlated environmental toxicants and cognition. Interactions should be further evaluated to determine the exacerbated effects of mixed exposures and better design potential interventions.
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Institution: Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3169737224