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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1501162

Menopause-dependent correlations of blood mercury levels with bone mineral density and appendicular lean mass index in middle-aged women

Provisionally accepted
Feng Xu Feng Xu 1Yanfei Wang Yanfei Wang 1Jinqiong Fang Jinqiong Fang 1Zhongxin Zhu Zhongxin Zhu 2*
  • 1 The First people's Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 2 Clinical Research Center, Xiaoshan Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Mercury exposure poses significant health risks, yet its effects on bone mineral density (BMD) and appendicular lean mass index (ALMI) in middle-aged women remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the associations between blood mercury levels (BML) and these key indicators of skeletal health and body composition, with special attention to the potential modifying effect of menopausal status.We analyzed data from 1,648 women aged 40-59 years (782 premenopausal, 866 postmenopausal) using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2018. Multiple linear regression models were employed to assess the relationships between LnBML and both lumbar BMD and ALMI, adjusting for relevant covariates.Results: There was complex, non-linear associations between LnBML and skeletal health parameters. Notably, the relationship between LnBML and lumbar BMD differed significantly based on menopausal status (P for interaction < 0.001). In premenopausal women, LnBML was negatively associated with BMD (β = -0.018, 95% CI: -0.029, -0.007), while in postmenopausal women, a positive association was observed (β = 0.025, 95% CI: 0.014, 0.036). Conversely, LnBML demonstrated a significant positive association with ALMI (β = 0.054, 95% CI: 0.025, 0.083, P < 0.001) in the fully adjusted model.Our findings revealed intricate, menopause-dependent relationships between BML and skeletal health parameters in middle-aged women. These results underscore the complex interplay between environmental exposures and women's health across the menopausal transition, highlighting the need for further research to elucidate underlying mechanisms and inform targeted interventions.

    Keywords: Blood mercury levels, bone mineral density, Appendicular lean mass index, Menopausal status, Environmental Exposure

    Received: 24 Sep 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Wang, Fang and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhongxin Zhu, Clinical Research Center, Xiaoshan Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.