Blood lead is significantly associated with metabolic syndrome in Korean adults: an analysis based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2008

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough an association between low-level environmental heavy metal exposure and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) has been hypothesized, little research on this topic has been conducted on a population-wide level.MethodsWe analyzed MS status and whole blood lead, mercury, cadmium, manganese, and creatinine-adjusted urine arsenic concentrations in 1,405 subjects, ≥ 20 years of age, who were registered for the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008.ResultsVarious demographic and biochemical parameters were associated with MS and blood heavy metal status. After adjusting for these variables, lead was the only heavy metal that was significantly associated with MS. Lead concentrations in subjects with MS were significantly higher than those in subjects without MS (p = 0.015). The prevalence of MS and a moderate/high risk for cardiovascular disease, as determined by Framingham risk score, also increased significantly according to the logarithmic transformation of the lead quartile (p < 0.001). The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for MS were 1.56 (0.90–2.71), 1.63 (0.94–2.83), and 2.57 (1.46–4.51) for the second, third, and fourth quartiles of the log-transformed lead quartile, respectively, as compared with those of the lowest quartile after multiple adjustments for confounding factors. Serum triglyceride level was the only MS diagnostic component significantly associated with lead level in a multiple linear regression analysis (p = 0.006).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that a higher prevalence of MS is associated with higher blood lead levels in the Korean population.

Environmental lead effects on gene expression in oral epithelial cells

“…Significantly increased odds ratios for periodontitis were identified in both men and women with increased blood lead levels using NHANES III (1988‐94) data . Similar findings were derived from the Korean NHANES study particularly related to smoking and in some instances gender . Our recent data examining an Environment Wide Association Study using NHANES data (1999‐2004) also demonstrated significant lead effects with a threshold of >2.0 μg/dL that discriminated periodontitis from health in all subsets of smokers, former smokers and non‐smokers in the adult population (P. Emecen‐Huja, H.‐F.…”

Environmental Exposures and Cardiovascular Disease

“…Moreover, some evidence suggests the lead exposure is also associated in with decreased heart rate variability 131 . However, emerging evidence suggests that lead exposure is also associated with other cardiometabolic derangements including increased fasting glucose, decreased HDL, increased total cholesterol, and increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome 124,134,135 . Several of these studies of cardiometabolic impairment in the setting of lead exposure were conducted in LMIC settings, including multiple settings in West Africa and the Americas, thus highlighting the potential role of environmental exposures on non-communicable disease risk in LMIC.…”

Current Views on Genetics and Epigenetics of Cholesterol Gallstone Disease

“…Fetal programming, in turn, results in the onset of diseases in adult age, underlying the importance of developmental factors in influencing the risk of later-life disease [100]. Diet [101, 102] or environmental exposition to a number of chemical agents like heavy metals (e.g., cadmium, arsenic, nickel, chromium, and methylmercury) [103–107], air pollutants (e.g., particulate matter, black carbon, and benzene), and endocrine-disrupting/reproductive toxicants (e.g., diethylstilbestrol, bisphenol A, persistent organic pollutants, dioxin, and pesticides [108–112]) are able to induce epigenetic changes (mainly DNA methylation, histone acetylation/deacetylation [113], and noncoding microRNAs) [114, 115], which are involved in a wide range of metabolic diseases including obesity [90, 116], abnormal hepatic triglyceride accumulation [91], and the metabolic syndrome [92, 117], type 2 diabetes [87–89], all well-known risk factors for gallstone disease and mainly attributable to insulin resistance. Interestingly, it has been recently reported by a cluster of analyses a significant association of gallbladder diseases with environmental pollutants (heavy metals) in drinking water [118].…”