Serum arsenic augments gallstone risk in Henan rural cohort with multiple metal exposure

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2024-11, Vol.952, p.175991, Article 175991
• Main Authors: Zhang, Qian, Li, Yating, Hu, Han, Tian, Meichen, Cao, Tingting, Wu, Hui, Wu, Weidong, Zhang, Guofu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Arsenic; Arsenic - blood; Bayesian Kernel machine regression (BKMR); China - epidemiology; Cohort Studies; Element; Environmental Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Female; Gallstone; Gallstones - epidemiology; Humans; Male; Metals - blood; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Zinc
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175991

People are exposed to metals in various ways during their daily lives. However, the association between metal exposure and gallstones remains unclear. To investigate the relationship between serum elemental concentrations and the risk of gallstones. Participants (n = 4204) were drawn from the Henan Rural Cohort. Gallstone diagnosis was based on abdominal ultrasound reports during follow-up. Baseline serum elemental concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The relationship between serum elemental levels and gallstones was evaluated using robust Poisson regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS), quantile g-computation (Qgcomp), grouped weighted quantile sum (GWQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). 121 individuals were diagnosed with gallstone (incidence rate of 2.88 %). In robust Poisson regression, after adjusting for confounding factors, the highest quartile of arsenic concentration compared to the lowest quartile had a 1.90 times higher relative risk (RR) [95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 3.44]. Conversely, the highest quartile of zinc concentration compared to the lowest quartile had a 0.50 times lower RR (95 % CI: 0.28, 0.89). RCS showed an approximately “S”-shaped nonlinear relationship between serum arsenic levels and gallstones, with increasing arsenic concentration leading to a higher risk of gallstones; however, the risk plateaued when arsenic concentration exceeded 0.62 μg/L. Both the Qgcomp and GWQS indicated that arsenic plays a significant role in increasing the risk of gallstones, whereas zinc plays a significant role in reducing the risk of gallstones. BKMR showed that raising arsenic exposure from the 25th to the 75th percentile increased the risk of gallstones, while raising serum zinc concentration reduced it. Higher serum arsenic concentration increases the risk of gallstones, whereas higher zinc concentration may reduce the risk. Effective prevention of gallstones may require further reduction of arsenic exposure and appropriate increases in zinc intake. [Display omitted] •In the general population, higher serum arsenic levels increase gallstone risk, while higher zinc levels reduce it.•Restricted cubic spline analysis shows an "S"-shaped non-linear relationship between serum arsenic and gallstone risk.•The group with high arsenic concentrations and low zinc concentrations has the highest risk of developing gallstones.