Associations of essential metals with the risk of aortic arch calcification: a cross-sectional study in a mid-aged...

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Vascular calcification, a key indicator of cardiovascular events, is influenced by essential metals.
• The specific relationship between essential metal concentrations and aortic arch calcification (AoAC) risk is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between plasma levels of nine essential metals and the risk of AoAC.
• To explore the potential mediating role of fasting glucose in the manganese-AoAC relationship.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study measuring plasma concentrations of nine essential metals.
• Logistic regression, LASSO penalized regression, and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression were employed.
• Analysis included evaluating individual and combined metal effects and mediation by fasting glucose.

Main Results:

• Higher magnesium and copper levels correlated with decreased AoAC risk; higher manganese levels correlated with increased AoAC risk.
• LASSO identified magnesium, manganese, calcium, cobalt, and copper as key metals associated with AoAC.
• WQS regression indicated a combined effect of the metal mixture, with manganese showing a dose-response relationship in males.
• Fasting glucose was found to mediate 9.38% of the manganese-AoAC association.

Conclusions:

• Five essential metals (magnesium, manganese, calcium, cobalt, copper) are associated with AoAC risk, exhibiting a combined effect.
• Fasting glucose may play a significant mediating role in the link between manganese exposure and AoAC risk.