Several studies have shown that serum copper levels are related to coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. However, the association of serum copper levels with all-cause, cause-specific [including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer] mortality remains unclear.
This study aimed to prospectively examine the association of copper exposure with all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality among US adults.
The data for this analysis was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2011 and 2014. Mortality from all-causes, CVD, and cancer mortality was linked to US National Death Index mortality data. Cox regression models were used to estimate the association between serum copper levels and all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality.
A total of 2,863 adults were included in the main study. During the mean follow-up time of 81.2 months, 236 deaths were documented, including 68 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 57 deaths from cancer. The weighted mean overall serum copper levels was 117.2 ug/L. After adjusting for all of the covariates, compared with participants with low (1st tertile, <103 μg/L)/medium (2st tertile, 103–124 μg/L) serum copper levels, participants with high serum copper levels (3rd tertile, ≥124 μg/L) had a 1.75-fold (95% CI, 1.05–2.92)/1.78-fold (1.19,2.69) increase in all-cause mortality, a 2.35-fold (95% CI, 1.04–5.31)/3.84-fold (2.09,7.05) increase in CVD mortality and a 0.97-fold (95% CI, 0.28–3.29)/0.86-fold (0.34,2.13) increase in cancer mortality. In addition, there was a linear dose-response association between serum copper concentration with all-cause and CVD mortality (
This prospective study found that serum copper concentrations were linearly associated with all-cause and CVD mortality in US adults. High serum copper levels is a risk factor for all-cause and CVD mortality.