Environmental exposure to toxic and essential metals and glucose homeostasis in adolescents: A cross-sectional analysis of the Hong Kong School Children Cohort

作者：Jiazhou Yu, Aimin Yang, Elaine Chow, Mai Shi, Yincong Xue, Claudia H.T. Tam, Natural Chu, Stephanie HM Cheung, Eric S. H. Lau, Hongjiang Wu, Juliana Nga Man Lui, Ronald C.W., Alice P.S. Kong, Andrea O. Y. Luk, Jones CM Chan, I Chan, Michael Chan, Juliana Cn Chan · 发表于：Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.119179 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity、Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals、Trace Elements in Health

Environmental exposure to heavy metals is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Although T2D in adolescents and young adults is increasingly prevalent, the association between toxic and essential metals and glucose homeostasis in adolescents has not been reported. We examined the associations of individual and mixture of urinary concentrations of four toxic metals (arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], mercury [Hg], and lead [Pb]), and seven essential metals (chromium [Cr], cobalt [Co], copper [Cu], manganese [Mn], nickel [Ni], selenium [Se], and zinc [Zn]) with glucose homeostasis traits in 1939 Chinese adolescents (mean age 15.6 ± 2.1, 49.1 % boys) in Hong Kong. We used linear regression, advanced machine learning-based quantile-g-computation (qgcomp), Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), and restricted cubic splines to examine the associations, dose-response relationships, and interactions between creatinine-adjusted urinary concentrations of 11 metals and fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and beta-cell function (HOMA-beta). After adjusting for confounders, the urinary As-FPG, Cr-FPG, Zn-HOMA-IR, Cu-HOMA-beta, Cr-HOMA-beta associations were linear while that of Mn-HOMA-beta was non-linear. We observed an interaction between toxic (Cr) and essential (As) metals for HOMA-beta. We further observed sex-specific associations of toxic (As) and essential metals (Cr, Zn, Mn, and Cu) with glucose homeostasis traits as well as the association...