B-158 Association between multiple heavy metals exposure and blood lipid levels: evidence from a cross-sectional study of Korean adults

Abstract Background Metals are ubiquitous in our environment and enter human body via various pathways, such as air, soil, food, water, etc. Increasing studies have found that metals are important risk factors in developing dyslipidemia. However, there is no consensus regarding the effects of co-exposure to multiple metals on blood lipid levels. We investigated both the joint and individual effects of this metal mixture exposure on human blood lipid levels. Methods Blood concentrations of four human toxic metals (Pb, Cs, Hg, and Cd) in 2,798 general populations from Korea were simultaneously determined as a measure of exposure. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to estimate associations of four blood metals and metals mixture with lipid profiles, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Results The mean age of the overall study population was 41.2 ± 9.85 years, and 66.9% were men. The prevalence of overweight or obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in the population was 62.5, 6.8, and 13.9%, respectively. In the multivariable linear regression model, the blood Cs was positively associated with TC and LDL-C(p < 0.05, all), and the blood Pb was positively associated with serum TG (p < 0.05, all). Also, the blood Cd was positively associated with serum HDL-C (p < 0.05, all). We did not identify any other obvious interaction between metals on the lipid profiles using a bivariate exposure-response function in BKMR. Conclusions Our finding suggests that combined exposure to this metal mixture may affect human blood lipid levels. Therefore, reducing exposure to heavy metals, such as Cs and Pb, should be a priority for the general population. However, future studies with a larger number of heavy metals are still needed to focus on the detrimental effects of single metals on lipid profiles as well as to identify key components.