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. 2024 Feb 16:12:1280163.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1280163. eCollection 2024.

Association between blood heavy metal exposure levels and risk of metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease in adults: 2015-2020 NHANES large cross-sectional study

Song Tang #  1 , Simin Luo #  2 , Zhendong Wu #  3 , Jiandong Su  3
Affiliations

Association between blood heavy metal exposure levels and risk of metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease in adults: 2015-2020 NHANES large cross-sectional study

Song Tang et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The relationships between heavy metals and fatty liver, especially the threshold values, have not been fully elucidated. The objective of this research was to further investigate the correlation between blood heavy metal exposures and the risk of Metabolic dysfunction Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) in adults.

Methods: Laboratory data on blood metal exposure levels were obtained from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data for the period 2015 to 2020 for a cross-sectional study in adults. Associations between blood levels of common heavy metals and the risk of MAFLD in adults were analyzed using multifactorial logistic regression and ranked for heavy metal importance using a random forest model. Finally, thresholds for important heavy metals were calculated using piecewise linear regression model.

Results: In a multifactorial logistic regression model, we found that elevated levels of selenium (Se) and manganese (Mn) blood exposure were strongly associated with the risk of MAFLD in adults. The random forest model importance ranking also found that Se and Mn blood exposure levels were in the top two positions of importance for the risk of disease in adults. The restricted cubic spline suggested a non-linear relationship between Se and Mn blood exposure and adult risk of disease. The OR (95% CI) for MAFLD prevalence was 3.936 (2.631-5.887) for every 1 unit increase in Log Mn until serum Mn levels rose to the turning point (Log Mn = 1.10, Mn = 12.61 μg/L). This correlation was not significant (p > 0.05) after serum Mn levels rose to the turning point. A similar phenomenon was observed for serum Se levels, with a turning point of (Log Se = 2.30, Se = 199.55 μg/L).

Conclusion: Blood heavy metals, especially Se and Mn, are significantly associated with MAFLD in adults. They have a non-linear relationship with a clear threshold.

Keywords: MAFLD; NHANES; heavy metal; manganese; selenium.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the screening and selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heat maps of correlations between 10 environmental heavy metals.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Analysis results of multi-factor logistics regression model. (B) The order of importance of variables.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Relationship between serum Mn exposure level and risk of MAFLD. (B) Relationship between serum Se exposure level and risk of MAFLD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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