Association of plasma zinc and copper levels with mild cognitive impairment in patients with type 2 diabetes

作者：Jiao Yang, Xing Zhang, Lian Duan, Ruijie Cheng, Ning Yang, Zhao Peng, Ben Li, Lu Xu, Wenwen Chen, Jingrong Chen, Yanchao Liu, Hong Yan · 发表于：Frontiers in Nutrition · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fnut.2025.1532080 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Trace Elements in Health、Magnesium in Health and Disease、Alzheimer's disease research and treatments

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a significant risk factor for cognitive impairment. Zinc deficiency contributes to T2DM development, while copper may exacerbate diabetes through prooxidant mechanisms. Higher zinc levels may protect against copper toxicity. This study investigates the association of plasma zinc and copper levels with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in T2DM patients. Methods T2DM patients admitted to Tongji Hospital from 2012 to 2018 were classified into MCI ( n = 136) and control ( n = 136) groups, matched by age (± 3 years) and gender. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess the associations between plasma zinc, copper levels and MCI. A generalized additive model (GAM) evaluated the dose–response relationship between plasma zinc, copper levels and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Results The median of plasma metal levels in MCI and control groups were 831.31 μg/L and 936.29 μg/L for zinc, 932.07 μg/L and 860.47 μg/L for copper, and 0.91 and 1.11 for the zinc-to-copper (Zn/Cu) ratio. Compared to participants in the lowest tertile, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for MCI in the highest tertile were 0.33 (0.13, 0.79) for zinc, 3.56 (1.42, 8.94) for copper, and 0.37 (0.15, 0.93) for the Zn/Cu ratio. Plasma Aβ40 levels were significantly lower ( p = 0.009) and plasma Aβ42/40 levels were significantly higher ( p = 0.008) in MCI group compared with those in control group. Zinc concentrati...