Relationships between trace elements and atherosclerosis

The possible relationship between trace element (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn) concentrations in various human tissues (heart, liver, kidney, aorta, rib and head hair) and cardiovascular diseases was studied on the basis of indications in the literature that trace elements may be directly or indirectly involved in cardiovascular disease processes. The underlying theme was that (slightly) reduced, as well as (slightly) elevated, concentrations compared with optimum values could, in the long term, lead to atherosclerotic lesions. In this project the tissues were obtained by autopsy involving 200 individuals (hospitalised patients and victims of traffic accidents). The seriousness of cardiovascular disease was quantitatively expressed by the degree of atherosclerosis of the descending branch of the left coronary artery (LAD) and of the abdominal aorta, for which a special measurement method was developed. Correlations were evaluated by two different methods, i.e. by a comparison of patients with extremely high or extremely low degrees of atherosclerosis and by means of stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) analysis. Corrections were made for the influence of age. The element Cd was found to be positively, and the elements Cu, Co, Se and Zn negatively, correlated with the degree of atherosclerosis. The inclusion of risk factors (diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, obesity and smoking) did not improve the explained variance.