Cardiovascular risk factors m relation to the serum concentrations of copper and zinc: epidemiological study on children and adolescents in the Spanish province of Navarra

Abstract

This investigation was carried out to show the possible association between groups of children with extreme values of copper and zinc concentrations and cardiovascular risk indicators. Serum copper and zinc concentrations were analysed in a group of 3887 children from Navarra, Spain (both sexes. aged 4-17 years). Hypertension, unfavourable serum lipid profile (total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and cholesterol/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios), and degree of adiposity (weight, height, subcutaneous skinfolds, Quetelet's index and mean of subcutaneous skinfolds) were evaluated. Positive correlation was found between several lipid parameters and copper and zinc concentrations, i.e. degree of correlation related with age, except for copper/HDL and triglycerides/zinc ratios, where correlation remained negative at all points. Copper levels were correlated with adiposity parameters in an age-dependent fashion (Quetelet's index: r = 0.01 for ages 4-7 years to r = 0.10, p < 0.01 for ages 14-17 years; mean skinfold thickness: r = 0.05 for ages 4-7 years up to r = 0.18, p < 0.01 for ages 14-17 years). Most correlations between lipid parameters and copper and zinc are markedly amplified if adiposity parameters are taken into account. However, the only significant association was the established relation between high copper concentrations (> x + 2SD) and unfavourable serum lipid profile (LDL/HDL > 2.2).

Trace Element Status (Se, Cu, Zn) in Healthy Portuguese Subjects of Lisbon Population: A Reference Study

“…Similar associations between high serum Cu levels and an unfavorable lipid profile were observed in Spanish children and adolescents (28). However, this phenomenon remains poorly understood.…”

“…Moreover, it is believed that the impairment of this trace element status might be linked to the occurrence of degenerative diseases associated with vascular damage and atherogenesis (24,(26)(27)(28)(29). Previous epidemiological studies on trace element status have been carried out in different European countries, mainly in the central and northern ones (30,31).…”

Association of selenium and copper with lipids in umbilical cord blood

“…Several other studies in children or adults have found positive relationships between copper and several forms of cholesterol, 19 HDL cholesterol, 15 or an unfavorable lipid profile (LDL/HDL >2.2). 44 However, other studies among adults report inverse associations between copper and cholesterol 21 or no relationship between copper and triglycerides 15,19,44,45 or cholesterol. 45,46 …”

Zinc Nutritional Status in a Series of Children with Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…There were no significant differences between them and with the NHANES 2011-2014 study (82.7 µg/dL) [49]. However, the mean serum zinc of the three differs significantly from the Navarra study carried out in 3887 children between 4 and 17 years (112.8 µg/dL, p = 0.000) [50] and from the Ortega et al's study performed on 357 Spanish schoolchildren between 8 and 13 years (101.7 µg/dL, p = 0.000) [51]. In the present study, there were few cases with hypozincemia.…”