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High Copper Intake Is Associated with Decreased Likelihood of Abdominal Aortic Calcification in Middle-Aged and Older US Adults

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Abstract

The purpose of our study was primarily to investigate the relationship between dietary copper intake and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in US adults. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013–2014 for our analysis. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between copper intake and AAC scores. We also used multivariate logistic regression analysis to explore the association between copper intake and the risk of AAC and severe AAC. We also examined whether there was a nonlinear relationship between copper intake and AAC scores and risk of AAC and severe AAC using restricted cubic splines (RCS) analysis. In addition, we also performed subgroup analysis and interaction tests. A total of 2897 participants were recruited in this study. The mean AAC score of the participants was 1.46 ± 0.11, and the prevalence of AAC and severe AAC among the participants was 28.53% and 7.68%, respectively. In the fully adjusted model, a negative association of copper intake with AAC scores (β =  − 0.16, 95%CI: − 0.49 ~ 0.17) and the risk of AAC (OR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.61–1.19) and severe AAC (OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.49–1.38) was observed. Compared to participants in the lowest tertile of copper intake, participants in the highest tertile of copper intake had a 0.37-unit decrease in mean AAC score (β =  − 0.37, 95% CI: − 0.90–0.15) and a significant 38% and 22% decrease in risk of AAC (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41–0.95) and severe AAC (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.34 − 1.77), respectively. The results of subgroup analyses and interaction tests suggested no significant differences in AAC scores and AAC risk between the different strata. In contrast, the risk of severe AAC was significantly dependent on the patients’ diabetes status. Increased copper intake was associated with decreased AAC scores and decreased likelihood of AAC and severe AAC.

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Data Availability

Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. This data can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the staff and the participants of the NHANES study for their valuable contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

    Chang Liu

  2. Department of Endocrine, People’s Hospital of Chongqing Liang Jiang New Area, Chongqing, China

    Dan Liang

  3. The West China College of Medicine, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China

    Dan Liang

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  1. Chang Liu
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  2. Dan Liang
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CL analyzed the data and wrote the primary manuscript. DL reviewed and revised the manuscript. All the authors have approved the manuscript for publication.

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Correspondence to Chang Liu or Dan Liang.

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Liu, C., Liang, D. High Copper Intake Is Associated with Decreased Likelihood of Abdominal Aortic Calcification in Middle-Aged and Older US Adults. Biol Trace Elem Res 202, 1390–1400 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03765-2

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