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Serum heavy metals and lung function in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cohort

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Abstract

This study was performed to evaluate the potential association between serum heavy metal levels and lung function in a cohort of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. We analyzed data from 152 subjects enrolled in a cohort study on COPD from 2012 to 2013 and living in a dusty area. In total, 152 subjects from the cohort study were enrolled; 111 were diagnosed with OLD. There was a significant association between post-bronchodilator FEV1 and serum mercury level after adjusting for age, gender and smoking status (p=0.03). Following the adjustment, a significantly higher prevalence of OLD was observed in subjects in the highest mercury concentration tertile (p=0.03). The risk of OLD was significantly higher for subjects in the higher mercury concentration (odds ratio, 3.62; 95% confidence interval: 1.29-10.18) than in those in the lowest tertile. In conclusion, serum mercury level may be a risk factor for reduced lung function and OLD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine and Environmental Health Center, Kangwon National University Hospital, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24289, Republic of Korea

    Jeongwon Heo, Hyun Sun Park, Yoonki Hong, Seok-Ho Hong, Chi Young Bang, Myoung-Nam Lim & Woo Jin Kim

  2. Department of Critical Care Medicine at Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jinkyeong Park

Authors
  1. Jeongwon Heo
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  2. Hyun Sun Park
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  3. Yoonki Hong
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  4. Jinkyeong Park
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  5. Seok-Ho Hong
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  6. Chi Young Bang
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  7. Myoung-Nam Lim
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  8. Woo Jin Kim
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Correspondence to Woo Jin Kim.

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Heo, J., Park, H.S., Hong, Y. et al. Serum heavy metals and lung function in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cohort. Toxicol. Environ. Health Sci. 9, 30–35 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-017-0300-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-017-0300-x

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