Abstract
BackgroundTo examine the relationship between cadmium, lead, and mercury concentrations with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine in women.MethodsMetals were measured at enrollment in whole blood. Homocysteine and hs-CRP were measured in one (N = 9) or two (N = 250) menstrual cycles up to 3 and 8 times per cycle, respectively. Linear mixed models with inverse probability of exposure weights to account for time varying confounding were used and models were stratified by dietary and serum vitamin status (dietary: vitamin B6, B12, folate; serum: folate).ResultsGeometric mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) concentrations for cadmium, lead, and mercury were 0.29 (0.26–0.31) μg/L, 0.91 (0.86–0.96) μg/dL, and 1.05 (0.93–1.18) μg/L, respectively. Lead was associated with increased homocysteine (0.08; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.15) and this persisted among those in the lower three quartiles of consumption of vitamin B6, B12, folate, and serum folate but was not significant among those in the upper quartile. No associations were observed between metals and hs-CRP.ConclusionsBlood lead was associated with increased homocysteine in a cohort of healthy, premenopausal women but these associations did not persist among those consuming ≥75th percentile of essential micronutrients. Cadmium, lead, and mercury were not associated with hs-CRP concentrations.
Highlights
To examine the relationship between cadmium, lead, and mercury concentrations with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and homocysteine in women
These findings suggest that even among young, healthy women, with relatively low exposure, higher lead concentrations are associated with higher homocysteine concentrations
We observed that lead was associated with increased homocysteine among healthy, young women
Summary
To examine the relationship between cadmium, lead, and mercury concentrations with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine in women. A growing body of research points to associations between metals and the inflammation markers homocysteine and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Limited evidence suggests an association between cadmium, lead, and homocysteine in US adults [2], and between mercury and homocysteine in children [3]. Total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) and hs-CRP are considered CVD risk biomarkers [14,15,16]. Both hs-CRP and homocysteine reflect distinct cellular processes that may contribute to inflammation and evaluating both biomarkers may provide greater insight as the specific mechanism by which metals influence CVD risk remains unknown
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