Dataset Information

Environmental exposure to metal mixtures and linear growth in healthy Ugandan children.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Stunting is an indicator of poor linear growth in children and is an important public health problem in many countries. Both nutritional deficits and toxic exposures can contribute to lower height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) and stunting (HAZ < -2).

Objectives

In a community-based cross-sectional sample of 97 healthy children ages 6-59 months in Kampala, Uganda, we examined whether exposure to Pb, As, Cd, Se, or Zn were associated with HAZ individually or as a mixture.

Methods

Blood samples were analyzed for a mixture of metals, which represent both toxins and essential nutrients. The association between HAZ and metal exposure was tested using multivariable linear regression and Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression, which uses mixtures of correlated exposures as a predictor.

Results

There were 22 stunted children in the sample, mean HAZ was -0.74 (SD = 1.84). Linear regression showed that Pb (? = -0.80, p = 0.021) and Se (? = 1.92, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with HAZ. The WQS models separated toxic elements with a presumed negative effect on HAZ (Pb, As, Cd) from essential nutrients with presumed positive effect on HAZ (Se and Zn). The toxic mixture was significantly associated with lower HAZ (? = -0.47, p = 0.03), with 62% of the effect from Pb. The nutrient WQS index did not reach statistical significance (? = -0.47, p = 0.16).

Discussion

Higher blood lead and lower blood selenium level were both associated with lower HAZ. The significant associations by linear regression were reinforced by the WQS models, although not all associations reached statistical significance. These findings suggest that healthy children in this neighborhood of Kampala, Uganda, who have a high burden of toxic exposures, may experience detrimental health effects associated with these exposures in an environment where exposure sources are not well characterized.

SUBMITTER: Moody EC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7228047 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Environmental exposure to metal mixtures and linear growth in healthy Ugandan children.

Moody Emily C EC Colicino Elena E Wright Robert O RO Mupere Ezekiel E Jaramillo Ericka G EG Amarasiriwardena Chitra C Cusick Sarah E SE

PloS one 20200515 5

<h4>Background</h4>Stunting is an indicator of poor linear growth in children and is an important public health problem in many countries. Both nutritional deficits and toxic exposures can contribute to lower height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) and stunting (HAZ < -2).<h4>Objectives</h4>In a community-based cross-sectional sample of 97 healthy children ages 6-59 months in Kampala, Uganda, we examined whether exposure to Pb, As, Cd, Se, or Zn were associated with HAZ individually or as a mixture.<h4>Met ...[more]

PMID: 32413070

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundStudies have evaluated environmental exposure to toxic metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), or lead (Pb) on birth size; however, information on potential effects of exposures to metal mixtures is limited.ObjectivesWe assessed the association between metal mixtures (As, Cd, Mn, Pb) in umbilical cord blood and neonate size in Bangladeshi children.MethodsIn this birth cohort study, pregnant women who were ≥18 years of age with an ultrasound-confirmed singleton pregnancy of ≤16wk gestation were recruited from two Bangladesh clinics between 2008 and 2011. Neonate size metrics were measured at the time of delivery. Metals in cord blood were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We employed multivariable linear regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to estimate associations of individual metals and metal mixtures with birth size parameters.ResultsData from 1,088 participants was assessed. We found a significant negative association between metal mixture and birth length and head circumference when all metal concentrations were above the 60th and 55th percentiles, respectively, compared with the median. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in log Cd concentration {log[Cd (in micrograms per deciliter)] IQR=2.51} was associated with a 0.13-standard deviation (SD) decrease in mean birth length (95% CI: -0.25, -0.02) and a 0.17-SD decrease in mean head circumference (95% CI: -0.28, -0.05), based on linear regression models adjusted for covariates and the other metals. An IQR increase in log Mn concentration {log[Mn (in micrograms per deciliter)] IQR=0.69} was associated with a 0.07-SD decrease in mean birth weight (95% CI: -0.15, 0.002).DiscussionMetal mixtures in cord blood were associated with reduced birth size in Bangladeshi children. Results from linear regression models adjusted and the BKMR mixtures analyses suggest adverse effects of Cd and Mn, as individual metal exposures, on birth size outcomes. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7502.

Dataset Information

Environmental exposure to metal mixtures and linear growth in healthy Ugandan children.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Environmental exposure to metal mixtures and linear growth in healthy Ugandan children.

Similar Datasets

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