Association between heavy metals exposure and persistent infections: the mediating role of immune function

作者：Huiling Zhang, Juan Wang, Kunlun Zhang, Jianyang Shi, Yameng Gao, Jingying Zheng, Jingtong He, Jing J. Zhang, Yang Song, Ruifei Zhang, Xuening Shi, Lina Jin, Hui Li · 发表于：Frontiers in Public Health · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3389/fpubh.2024.1367644 · 被引用次数：19 · 研究领域：Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity、Immunotoxicology and immune responses、Arsenic contamination and mitigation

Introduction Persistent infections caused by certain viruses and parasites have been associated with multiple diseases and substantial mortality. Heavy metals are ubiquitous environmental pollutants with immunosuppressive properties. This study aimed to determine whether heavy metals exposure suppress the immune system, thereby increasing the susceptibility to persistent infections. Methods Using data from NHANES 1999–2016, we explored the associations between heavy metals exposure and persistent infections: Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Herpes Simplex Virus Type–1 (HSV–1), Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), and Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati (Toxocara spp.) by performing logistic regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models. Mediation analysis was used to determine the mediating role of host immune function in these associations. Results Logistic regression analysis revealed positive associations between multiple heavy metals and the increased risk of persistent infections. In WQS models, the heavy metals mixture was associated with increased risks of several persistent infections: CMV (OR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.14), HCV (OR: 2.94; 95% CI: 1.68, 5.16), HSV–1 (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.42), T. gondii (OR: 1.97; 95% CI: 1.41, 2.76), and Toxocara spp. (OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.66). BKMR models further confirmed the combined effects of heavy metals mixture and also identified the individua...