Distribution of urinary trace element exposure and dietary sources in women over 50 in an agricultural region- A community-based KoGES cohort study

Nam H Cho; Sohyeon Choi; Min Joo Kim; Young Joo Park; Aram Lee; Min Kyong Moon; Gowoon Lee; Inae Lee; Kyungho Choi; Joon-Hyop Lee; Jeongim Park

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118973

Distribution of urinary trace element exposure and dietary sources in women over 50 in an agricultural region- A community-based KoGES cohort study

Environ Res. 2024 Apr 26;252(Pt 3):118973. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118973. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Nam H Cho¹, Sohyeon Choi², Min Joo Kim³, Young Joo Park⁴, Aram Lee², Min Kyong Moon⁵, Gowoon Lee⁶, Inae Lee⁷, Kyungho Choi⁷, Joon-Hyop Lee⁸, Jeongim Park⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chnaha@ajou.ac.kr.
² Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, South Korea.
⁶ Department of Safety Engineering, Korea National University of Transportation, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea.
⁷ Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Gachon University College of Medicine, Gil Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
⁹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jeongim@sch.ac.kr.

PMID: 38679278
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118973

Abstract

Background: There is a noticeable lack of information on the levels of both non-essential and essential trace elements in women aged over 50. The main objective of this study is to investigate trace element concentrations and explore the influence of sociodemographic factors and dietary sources of exposure in this demographic.

Methods: We analyzed 19 trace elements, including manganese, cobalt, copper, zinc, molybdenum, chromium, nickel, arsenic, strontium, cadmium, tin, antimony, cesium, barium, tungsten, mercury, thallium, lead, and uranium, using ICP-MS and mercury analyzer. Urine samples were obtained from a cohort of 851 women aged over 50 who participated in the 8th KoGES-Ansung study (2017-2018). Multiple linear models were employed to explore associations between urinary trace element concentrations and sociodemographic factors and dietary sources of exposure. We used K-means clustering to discern patterns of exposure to trace elements and identify contributing factors and sources.

Results: Our findings indicate higher concentrations of molybdenum (Mo), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in our study population compared to women in previous studies. The study population were clustered into two distinct groups, characterized by lower or higher urinary concentrations. Significant correlations between age and urinary concentrations were observed in Ni. Smoking exhibited positive associations with urinary Cd and As. Associations with dietary sources of trace elements were more distinct in women in the high-exposure group. Urinary antimony (Sb) was positively linked to mushroom and egg intake, As to mushroom and fish, and Hg to egg, dairy products, fish, seaweed, and shellfish.

Conclusions: Our study underscores the significant gap in understanding urinary concentrations of trace elements in women aged over 50. With higher concentrations of certain elements compared to previous studies and significant correlations between age, smoking, and specific food sources, it is imperative to address this gap through targeted dietary source-specific risk management.

Keywords: Clustering analysis; Exposure sources; KoGES; Trace elements; Women over 50.