Abstract
There is limited evidence on the association between blood mercury (Hg) concentration and the risk of borderline dyslipidemia in adolescents. Here, we investigated the association between blood Hg concentration and the prevalence of borderline dyslipidemia among Korean adolescents. A total of 1559 participants (806 boys and 753 girls) aged 10–18 years who cross-sectionally enrolled in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2010–2013 and 2016 were included in this study. Hg concentrations (µg/L) in whole blood samples were measured. The geometric mean (GM) of the blood Hg concentration was 1.88 µg/L. It showed a 63% higher prevalence of borderline hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol (TC) 170–199 mg/dL) per unit of natural log-transformed blood Hg concentration in boys (95% CI = 1.10–2.41), but not in girls. When a categorical model was applied, the positive association with the prevalence of borderline hypercholesterolemia was also persistant in boys (OR (95% CI) for 2nd and 3rd tertiles (Hg concentration 1.532–11.761 µg/L) vs. 1st tertile (Hg concentration 0.192–1.531 µg/L): 1.92 (1.19–3.10)), but not in girls. This finding suggests that blood Hg concentration might result in a higher prevalence of borderline hypercholesterolemia among adolescents and more stringent public health actions should be taken for the reduction of Hg exposure to prevent dyslipidemia from early-childhood, despite the need of further study to evaluate a causal relationship between blood Hg concentration and the risk of dyslipidemia.
Highlights
Mercury (Hg) is a heavy metal ubiquitously distributed in nature, i.e., air, ocean, and soil
We examined the linear associations between blood Hg concentration and prevalence of borderline hypercholesterolemia and borderline hyper-low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterolemia
224 (14.4%) and 93 (6.0%) adolescents were identified as borderline and overt hyper-LDL cholesterolemia, respectively
Summary
Mercury (Hg) is a heavy metal ubiquitously distributed in nature, i.e., air, ocean, and soil. Environmental exposure to Hg occurs in daily life, such as with the consumption of foods grown in contaminated oceans (e.g., fish, shellfish, etc.), in air pollution, dental amalgams, and in the use of industrial products (e.g., batteries, lamps, etc.). Hg exposure has been a growing concern as it may be related to several adverse effects on health, including neurodegenerative diseases [1], cardiovascular disease (CVD) [2], kidney diseases [3], type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [4], and all-cause mortality [5,6]. Dyslipidemia is one of the established risk factors for CVD, the top cause of death in adults [7]. According to the results from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCDRisC) database, plasma total cholesterol (TC) and non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Cholesterol levels have globally decreased from 1980 to 2018 in both men and women [8,9].
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