The trace element selenium, which is found in selenoproteins, plays an antioxidant role in preventing muscle tissue injury. A positive association between selenium concentrations and hand grip ...strength has been reported in older adults; however, the evidence of this association is scarce in general adults. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between blood selenium concentrations and low hand grip strength using the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 in the United States (US). Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of low hand grip strength, with blood selenium level adjusted for potential confounders. Among 8158 adults (women: 51.59%) with a mean age of 47 (range: 18-80) years, women and non-Hispanic Blacks tended to have low blood selenium concentrations. Notably, participants with high blood selenium concentrations (range, 178.1-192.5 µg/L) were more likely to have a low risk of low hand grip strength after adjusting for the potential covariates (OR: 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.38-0.95) than those with low blood selenium concentrations. After excluding participants with chronic diseases, high blood selenium concentrations were found to be associated with a low risk of low hand grip strength (OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14-0.65). A J-shaped relationship was found between selenium concentrations and low hand grip strength (
for nonlinear trend <0.0001). Subgroup analyses revealed a significantly consistent relationship among women, non-Hispanic Whites and others, and individuals with overweight or obesity (
< 0.05). Our study suggests that blood selenium concentrations are inversely associated with hand grip strength in general US adults. However, further prospective studies are required to confirm the causality between selenium concentrations and hand grip strength.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in severity of anxiety and depression symptoms, stress and sleeping quality after three months of mass quarantine for COVID-19 among ...undergraduate fresh students compared to their pre-COVID-19 measures. We used participants from the Chinese Undergraduate Cohort (CUC), a national prospective longitudinal study to examine the changes in anxiety and depression symptoms severity, stress and sleep quality after being under mass quarantine for three months. Wilcoxon matched pair signed-rank test was used to compare the lifestyle indicators. Severity of anxiety, depression symptoms, stress and sleep quality were compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank test. We used generalized estimating equation (GEE) to further quantify the change in mental health indicators and sleep quality after the COVID-19 mass quarantine compared to baseline. This study found that there was no deterioration in mental health status among Chinese new undergraduate students in 2020 after COVID-19 mass quarantine compared with the baseline measures in 2019. There was an improvement in sleep quality and anxiety symptoms. After adjusting for age, sex, exercise habit, time spent on mobile gadgets, and time spent outdoors, year 2020 was significantly associated with severity of depression symptoms in males (OR:1.52. 95%CI:1.05–2.20,
p
-value = 0.027). Year 2020 was significantly associated with the improvement of sleeping quality in total (OR:0.45, 95%CI:0.38–0.52,
p
< 0.001) and in all the subgroups. This longitudinal study found no deterioration in mental health status among Chinese new undergraduate students after three months of mass quarantine for COVID-19.
Numerous essential metal elements (EMEs) are necessary to maintain the proper function of human body. In this case-control study, we investigated the associations of 11 EMEs Calcium (Ca), potassium ...(K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), cobalt (Co), Molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) in serum with the risk of schizophrenia. We recruited first-episode and drug-naïve schizophrenic patients (cases = 99) and age-sex-matched normal subjects (controls = 99) from Tangshan, Hebei Province, China. The 11 EMEs in serum from cases and controls were quantified by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We observed that a higher level of Mn (OR = 2.390; 95%CI: 1.504-3.796) and lower levels of Ca (OR = 0.939; 95%CI: 0.890-0.990), Mg (OR = 0.806; 95%CI: 0.669-0.972), Na (OR = 0.995; 95%CI: 0.993-0.998), and Se (OR = 0.954; 95%CI: 0.937-0.972) were associated with an elevated risk of schizophrenia. Dose-response relationships between serum EME concentrations and the risk of schizophrenia were observed in most of the schizophrenia-associated EMEs. Moreover, the serum concentrations of these schizophrenia-associated EMEs in patients were correlated with the severity of their clinical symptoms. Significant correlations were found between EMEs and biomarkers associated with schizophrenia related to metabolic and oxidative stress. This study suggested that the concentration and profile of EMEs were different between schizophrenic patients and normal controls and revealed potential metabolisms associated with EMEs and schizophrenia, suggesting EMEs might act as biomarkers of schizophrenia to improve the current situation of diagnosis and treatment.
•Exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors may cause abnormal glucose metabolism.•Arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and tin are part of persistent organic pollutants.•Mixed exposure to these five ...metals may promote the development of GDM.
Exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors (EDCs) may lead to abnormal glucose metabolism and, potentially, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
We investigated the association between five endocrine-disrupting heavy metals (EDHMs), i.e., arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and tin (Sn), in maternal hair and the risk of GDM.
We conducted a nested case-control study including 335 GDM cases and 343 controls without GDM based on a prospective birth cohort established in Beijing, China. Concentrations of EDHMs were analyzed in maternal hair. Log-binomial regression and multiple linear regression were used to estimate the associations between the hair concentrations of single metals and the risk of GDM, while weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression for their mixed effects.
The median concentrations of Hg (0.442 vs. 0.403 μg/g) and Sn (0.171 vs. 0.140 μg/g) in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group. No differences were found between the two groups for the other three metals. After adjusting for confounders, the prevalence ratio (PR; highest vs. lowest tertile) of GDM risk for Hg was 1.27 (95% confidence interval CI: 1.05–1.54), while that for Sn was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.04–1.53). Among women with a body mass index < 24 kg/m2, the PR (highest vs. lowest tertile) of GDM for Sn was 1.38 (95% CI: 1.09–1.75). The effect of exposure to the five EDHMs on the risk of GDM was estimated by WQS regression: Sn and Hg made the largest contributions to the WQS index (40.9% and 40.3%, respectively).
High maternal levels of EDHMs, particularly Sn and Hg, may promote the development of GDM.
Background and Objectives. Dracocephalum moldavica L. is an herbal medicine used to treat cardiovascular diseases in China. The purpose of this study was to assess the cardioprotective effect of D. ...moldavica L. extracts against H2O2-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress in H9c2 cells and to explore the mechanism behind this effect. Materials and Methods. The petroleum ether (petrol), dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and n-butyl alcohol (n-BuOH) fractions were isolated from alcohol extracts of D. moldavica L. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents and in vitro antioxidant activities of different fractions were evaluated. H9c2 cells were then treated with D. moldavica L. extracts before challenging with H2O2. Cell viability was determined by colorimetric assay, and ELISA was used to measure the levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Apoptosis levels and mitochondrial membrane potential were measured by flow cytometry. The expressions of cell apoptosis regulatory proteins caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 were determined by western blotting. Results. Our results demonstrated that the EtOAc fraction from D. moldavica L. ethanol extract, which is rich in phenolic and flavonoid active constituents, had the strongest free radical scavenging activity. Additionally, this fraction increased H2O2-induced reduction in cell viability, SOD activity, and mitochondrial membrane potential. It also reduced H2O2-induced elevation in ROS production, contents of LDH and MDA, and H9c2 apoptosis. We further found that the EtOAc fraction increased Bcl-2 expression, while it decreased caspase-3 and Bax expressions induced by H2O2 in H9c2 cells. Conclusions. Our data revealed that the EtOAc fraction from D. moldavica L. ethanol extract ameliorates H2O2-induced cardiotoxicity via antiapoptotic and antioxidant mechanisms.
Rare earth elements (REEs) are emerging contaminants. Previous studies reported the association between REEs and active smoking, but little is known about the effects of passive smoking on this ...condition. In China, female passive smoking is widespread, particularly in rural areas.
This study aimed to estimate the relationship between REEs accumulation and passive smoking among rural housewives.
We recruited 385 subjects in Shanxi Province of northern China, of whom 117 housewives were exposed to passive smoking, and 268 were not. We analyzed 15 REEs in the hair of housewives with ICP-MS, including lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and yttrium.
The results indicated higher levels of 14 REEs except for Sm in both the univariate and adjusted models among the housewives exposed to passive smoking. The increasing linear trend of adjusted odds ratios of 15 REEs supported their association. The Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models showed that 15 REEs had a significant overall effect, and Eu had a single-exposure effect with passive smoking.
We concluded that passive smoking might be associated with increased exposure to REEs among rural housewives.
Trace elements have various physiochemical functions in humans and are associated with the occurrence of preterm birth (PB). However, their mixed effects on PB risk have rarely been studied. We aimed ...to investigate the associations between hair levels of trace elements and PB risk among pregnant women. A nested case-control study with a prospective cohort was conducted in Beijing City, China. We included 82 women who had a PB total PB (tPB) as cases including 40 with a spontaneous PB (SPB) and 415 who had a term delivery as controls. Hair levels of the concerned trace elements were measured including endocrine disrupting metal(loid)s EDMs; lead, mercury (Hg), arsenic, and cadmium and nutritional trace metal(loid)s NTMs; zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper, and selenium. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for PB. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) was used to assess the associations between mixed exposure to the trace elements and PB risk. Significantly lower maternal hair concentrations of Zn and Fe were observed in the SPB cases than in the controls, whereas no differences for the other trace elements. Single-element modeling results suggested second-quartile Hg maternal hair concentrations, third-quartile Zn concentrations, and fourth-quartile Fe concentrations were associated with a reduced risk of tPB with adjusted ORs of 0.43 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21-0.87, 0.38 (95% CI: 0.18-0.82), and 0.48 (95% CI: 0.24-0.98), respectively, compared to first-quartile values. Similar results were obtained for SPB. According to the BKMR models, hair NTMs were significantly, monotonously, and inversely associated with the risk of SPB, after controlling for covariates and levels of the four EDMs. Fe and Zn contributed the most strongly to the association. We concluded that maternal higher levels of NTMs, especially Fe and Zn, may reduce the risk of PB.
Breast cancer is the most worldwide commonly found malignancy among women. The evidence for lipidomic studies of breast cancer in the Chinese population is relatively limited.
Our current study aimed ...to identify peripheral lipids capable of distinguishing adults with and without malignant breast cancer in a Chinese population and to explore the potential lipid metabolism pathways implicated in breast cancer.
Lipidomics was performed with an Ultimate 3000 UHPLC system coupled with a Q-Exactive HF MS platform by using the serum of 71 female patients with malignant breast cancer and 92 age-matched (± 2 years) healthy women. The data were uploaded to and processed by the specialized online software Metaboanalyst 5.0. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out for potential biomarker screening. Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUCs) of identified differential lipids were obtained for evaluating their classification capacity.
A total of 47 significantly different lipids were identified by applying the following criteria: false discovery rate-adjusted P < 0.05, variable importance in projection ⩾ 1.0, and fold change ⩾ 2.0 or ⩽ 0.5. Among them, 13 lipids were identified as diagnostic biomarkers with the area under curve (AUC) greater than 0.7. Multivariate ROC curves indicated that AUCs greater than 0.8 could be achieved with 2-47 lipids.
Using an untargeted LC-MS-based metabolic profiling approach, our study provides preliminary evidence that extensive dysregulations of OxPCs, PCs, SMs and TAGs were involved in the pathological processes of breast cancer. We provided clues for furtherly investigating the role of lipid alterations in the pathoetiology of breast cancer.
Previous studies have found associations between chromium exposure and skin damage. However, few studies have focused on both chromium and skin aging. This study aimed to assess the degree of skin ...aging symptoms and estimate the relationship between hair chromium and skin aging among rural housewives. We recruited 405 subjects in Shanxi Province of northern China and analyzed 397 eligible hair samples with inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). The subjects’ skin aging symptoms were assessed with SCINEXA™ (SCore of INtrinsic and EXtrinsic skin Aging). After adjusting for age and other important covariates, the regression results showed more severe skin aging symptoms in women with a higher level of hair chromium and presented an increasing linear trend. Vegetables, fruits, and beans might be a source of chromium exposure. We concluded that skin aging might be positively associated with hair chromium. It is necessary to take measures to reduce chromium exposure to prevent skin aging.
•Skin aging is general but environmental factors can accelerate this process.•Chromium is a necessary trace element but toxic in excess.•Skin aging especially pigmentation may be associated with higher chromium exposure.•Chromium exposure and pigmentation have a dose-response relationship.•Plant foods may be a source of chromium exposure among women in northern China.
The effect of maternal copper (Cu) level on the risk of spontaneous preterm birth (SPB) remains debate. Therefore, we conducted a prospective nested case-control study in Shanxi Province to ...investigate the relationship between maternal serum Cu concentration and SPB risk, as well as the potential mediation effect of lipid metabolism.
From an overall cohort of 4229 women, 147 women affected by SPB at 20–36 gestational weeks (cases) and 381 women who delivered at ≥37 gestational weeks (controls) were included in our nested case-control study. Maternal blood samples were collected during 4–22 gestational weeks, and the concentrations of Cu, total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) were measured. Information on maternal social demographic characteristics were collected using questionnaires. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations of Cu, TC or TG levels with SPB risk. Linear regressions were used to assess the relationships between concentrations of Cu and TC or TG.
Serum Cu concentrations in the case group (median: 184 μg/dL) were significantly higher than those in the control group (median: 166 μg/dL, p < 0.0001). Compared to the lowest serum Cu levels, the odds ratios associated with SPB increased to 2.02 (95% confidence interval CI: 1.07, 3.82), 3.10 (1.54, 6.22) and 4.18 (2.11, 8.27) in the second, third and fourth quartile respectively, after adjusting for sampling time, maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, education, occupation, parity, spontaneous abortion history, folic acid use, medication use, pre-pregnancy passive smoking status, child gender and fasting status. Plasma concentrations of TC and TG were positively associated with SPB risk in a dose-dependent manner. However, when stratified by sampling time, the above-mentioned relationships were significant in the first trimester but not in the second. In addition, plasma concentrations of TC and TG were positively correlated with serum Cu concentrations.
High maternal Cu level in the first trimester may increase the risk of SPB, by potentially increasing plasma concentrations of TC and TG.
•High maternal serum Cu level in first trimester increased the risk of SPB.•High maternal plasma TC and TG level in first trimester increased risk of SPB.•Maternal TC and TG concentrations are increased with increasing Cu concentrations.•High maternal Cu intake may increase SPB risk by increasing plasma TC and TG.
PDF
