Copper Intake and Mortality Among Asthmatic Adults: A Cohort Study

Previous studies have proved trace mineral disorders to be related to changes in oxidative stress, inflammatory state, and immune response in asthmatics. However, there is a scarcity of studies that examine the correlation between copper intake with mortality in asthmatic people. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of copper intake on the asthmatic population's mortality. This investigation included 3175 individuals from the NHANES. Multiple statistical models were used in this investigation to discuss the correlation between copper intake and the asthmatic population's mortality. These models included Cox proportional hazards models, trend tests, restricted cubic splines (RCS), threshold effect model, and CoxBoost model. Three Cox hazard models showed an inverse relationship between copper intake and the risk of death in asthmatics. Statistical tests, such as trend tests, RCS models, and threshold effect models, proved an inverse and linear link between dietary copper and the risk of death. Through Kaplan-Meier analysis, asthmatic adults who had higher copper intake had a higher survival rate compared to asthmatics with lower copper intake. The CoxBoost model indicated that the intake of copper, selenium, and zinc had a protective effect on mortality, whereas iron was associated with an increased risk of death. The research proved an inverse and linear correlation between dietary copper intake and the risk of death among asthmatic people. Improving copper intake may have a positive impact on the long-term survival of individuals with asthma.