Analysis of the relationship between leukemia mortality and soil trace elements using chemometrics

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Epidemiology
• Geochemistry

Background:

• Leukemia mortality rates vary geographically.
• Soil composition may influence public health outcomes.
• Identifying environmental risk factors for leukemia is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between soil trace elements and leukemia mortality in China.
• To identify key trace elements associated with leukemia risk.
• To develop predictive models for leukemia mortality based on soil composition.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 27 trace elements in soils across 29 Chinese regions.
• Application of genetic algorithm-partial least squares (GA-PLS) for variable selection.
• Development of a partial least squares (PLS) model to predict leukemia mortality.
• Classification of regions into high- and low-leukemia mortality groups.
• Utilizing Fisher's discriminant analysis (FDA) for group discrimination.

Main Results:

• Thirteen trace elements (As, Hg, Mn, Sr, Ba, Cu, Ti, Co, K, Ca, Rb, Zn, Mg) were identified as significant.
• A PLS model achieved a correlative coefficient of 0.874 in predicting leukemia mortality.
• A significant negative correlation was observed between soil arsenic (As) content and leukemia mortality.
• FDA successfully discriminated between high- and low-leukemia mortality regions.

Conclusions:

• Soil trace element composition is linked to leukemia mortality in China.
• Arsenic (As) in soil shows a potential protective effect against leukemia, possibly via arsenic trioxide's apoptotic effect on cancer cells.
• The identified trace elements and developed models can aid in understanding and potentially mitigating leukemia risk.