The association of urinary heavy metal exposure with frailty susceptibility and mortality in middle-aged and older adults: a population-based study

AbstractHeavy metals ’ presence as environmental pollutants has a close link to adverse health effects. Frailty, a clinical syndrome hallmarked by elevated vulnerability to stressors, presents a substantial challenge in healthcare. However, the association between exposure to heavy metals and frailty largely remains u nexplored. Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2003–2018 and correlated with the U.S. National Death Index (NDI) from 2019, we investigated mortality outcomes. Logistic regression, Cox regression, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, weighted quantil e-sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were employed to assess the association between heavy metal exposure and frailty incidence and mortality in the frail population. Eight metals were measured in urine using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with values a djusted for urinary creatinine, which was used to reflect heavy metal exposure. The cohort incorporated 5370 female participants aged 45 and above, with 1518 diagnosed with frailty. The findings indicated a substantial correlation between exposure to specific heavy metals, namely tungsten (odds rati o [OR]: 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31–2.89), cobalt (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.40–1.93), cadmium (OR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.52–2.43), and uranium (OR: 7.36, 95% CI: 1.53–35.28), and an elevated risk of frailty. WQS and BKMR regression models identified cadmium, cobalt...
Source: Archives of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research