Associations between plasma metal elements and risk of cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults

Xin Wang; Binbin Wang; Fuwen Yang; Kaijian Shang; Shaowei Chen; Yue Zhang

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2024.1353286

Associations between plasma metal elements and risk of cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults

Front Aging Neurosci. 2024 Feb 7:16:1353286. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1353286. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Xin Wang¹, Binbin Wang², Fuwen Yang¹, Kaijian Shang³, Shaowei Chen⁴, Yue Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
² School of Life Science, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan, China.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
⁴ Department of Hematology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
⁵ School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Shanxi Medical University, Key Laboratory of Coal Environmental Pathogenicity and Prevention, Ministry Education, Taiyuan, China.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between plasma metal elements and cognitive function is unclear, especially in extremely older individuals. This present study aimed to explore the association between plasma metal concentrations and the risk of cognitive impairment (CI) in Chinese extremely older adults.

Methods: Individuals aged ≥90 years with plasm metal concentration data from the fifth wave of the 2008 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey were included. Plasma selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Cognitive function was assessed by the Chinese version of the mini-mental state examination.

Results: The study enrolled 408 participants. Participants with CI had significantly lower plasma Se, Mn, and Fe levels and higher Ca levels than those with normal cognitive function (p < 0.05). Plasma Se, Mn, Ca, and Fe concentrations were significantly associated with CI risk in both single- and multiple-element logistic regression models. Additionally, the multiple-element model results showed that the adjusted odds ratios for CI were 0.042 (95% confidence interval 0.016-0.109), 0.106 (0.044-0.255), 7.629 (3.211-18.124) and 0.092 (0.036-0.233) for the highest quartiles compared to the lowest quartiles of Se, Mn, Ca, and Fe, respectively. Moreover, subgroup analyses by age, sex, and body mass index suggested a consistent significant correlation (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Therefore, decreased plasma Se, Mn, and Fe and increased plasma Ca levels were associated with CI risk in Chinese older adults. These findings are of great significance for the development of programs to delay cognitive decline in the elderly.

Keywords: CLHLS; cognitive impairment; metal elements; mini-mental state examination; older adults; risk.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Shanxi Bethune Hospital Talent Introduction Research (no. 2023RC14), the Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of Shanxi Province (no. 202303021212339, 20210302124066), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 32101923).