The correlation between blood heavy metals and retinal abnormalities: NHANES 2005-2008

Ying Cong Dan Wang Xiaomin Liu Xiangkai Fu Bingjie Zhang ^*

• First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China

Exposure to cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) poses significant threats to humans. However, limited research exists on the impact of heavy metals on the retina. The research incorporated data from 5572 individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between heavy metal concentrations in blood and retinal abnormalities was conducted by applying multivariate logistic regression models, quantile regression, analysis of nonlinear relationships, and subgroup analyses. The multivariate logistic regression analysis results indicate that individuals with blood Pb levels in the highest quartile are at a considerably higher risk of retinal arteriovenous nicking (OR = 1.011, 95% CI: 1.001-1.021). Moreover, elevated levels of blood Pb were linked to a heightened risk of branch retinal vein occlusion (OR = 1.014, 95% CI: 1.004-1.024), asteroid hyalosis (OR = 1.016, 95% CI: 1.006-1.025), and Hollenhorst plaque (OR = 1.014, 95% CI: 1.002-1.026); elevated blood Cd levels were associated with increased retinal pigment due to retinal pigment epithelial cells damage (OR = 1.321, 95% CI:1.044-1.672). In addition to the above, no association was observed between blood Cd, Pb, Hg, and 23 other retinal abnormalities included in the study.