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The Association Between Trace Elements Exposure and the Cognition in the Elderly in China

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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the association between aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), strontium (Sr), thallium (Tl), and vanadium (V) levels in whole blood and the cognitive ability of people over 60 years old. A total of 1217 eligible participants were enrolled in our study in Lu’an city, Anhui province, China. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the concentration of nine trace elements in the whole blood, which reflect their exposure levels. Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) scale was employed to screen the cognitive function of the elderly. Logistic regression was applied to assess the associations of nine whole blood trace elements with cognition. In the work, it has found that high levels of whole blood As and Se are risk factors for cognitive dysfunction. As and Se quartile were correlated with increased risk of cognitive dysfunction, and with the odds ratio (OR) of 2.06 (95% CI 1.30–3.25; p-trend = 0.002), 1.947 (95% CI 1.20–3.17; p-trend = 0.007) in the highest quartile. However, high concentration of Al, V, and Ba in whole blood were protective factors for cognitive function [OR = 0.63 (95% CI 0.40–0.98; p-trend = 0.040), 0.549 (95% CI 0.36–0.85; p-trend = 0.007), 0.460 (95% CI 0.28–0.75; p-trend = 0.002) respectively]. The study suggested that the exposure of some trace elements (As, Se) were associated with the increased risk of cognitive dysfunction; on the contrary, other elements (Al, V, Ba) could be protective factor for cognitive function. These findings need to be confirmed in additional research of a large elderly population.

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Funding

Grants for Major Projects on College Leading Talent Team Introduced of Anhui (0303011224) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (81872662).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, China

    Ling Gu, Jinhui Yu, Sufang Wang, Linsheng Yang, Kaiyong Liu, Qunan Wang, Fangbiao Tao & Jie Sheng

  2. Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, China

    Yong Fan

  3. School of Health Management, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    Guimei Chen, Dongmei Zhang, Ying Ma & Li Wang

  4. School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    Annuo Liu

  5. Lu’an Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Lu’an, 237000, Anhui, China

    Hongjuan Cao, Xiude Li & Kaichun Li

  6. MOE Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle / Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    Fangbiao Tao & Jie Sheng

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  1. Ling Gu
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  2. Jinhui Yu
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Correspondence to Jie Sheng.

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The study was approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Anhui Medical University. All participants provided the written informed consent.

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Gu, L., Yu, J., Fan, Y. et al. The Association Between Trace Elements Exposure and the Cognition in the Elderly in China. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 403–412 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02154-3

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