Association between Heavy Metal Exposure and Dyslipidemia among Korean Adults: From the Korean National Environmental Health Survey, 2015–2017

Do-won Kim, Jeongwon Ock, Kyong-Whan Moon and Choong-Hee Park
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Do-won Kim: Environmental Health Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Ministry of Environment, Incheon 22689, Korea
Jeongwon Ock: Environmental Health Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Ministry of Environment, Incheon 22689, Korea
Kyong-Whan Moon: BK21 FOUR R & E Center for Learning Health System, Department of Health and Environmental Science, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Choong-Hee Park: Environmental Health Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Ministry of Environment, Incheon 22689, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-12

Abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in Korea. Dyslipidemia, characterized by the presence of abnormal lipid levels, has been suggested as an early diagnostic and preventable factor for CVD. Recent studies have shown that exposure to lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) affects lipid metabolism. This study aimed to verify the association between heavy metal concentrations and serum lipid profiles in the general population. A representative sample of 2591 Korean adults from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2015–2017) was analyzed. The associations between heavy metals [Blood Pb (BPb), blood Hg (BHg), urinary Hg (UHg), urinary Cd (UCd)] and serum lipid profiles [total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), non-low level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Non-HDL-C)] were assessed using regression analysis. After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors, the proportional changes in serum lipid levels were significantly associated with increases in BPb, BHg, and UHg levels ( p for trend < 0.05). Overall, BPb, BHg, and Uhg levels positively correlated with dyslipidemia, whereas UCd levels did not show a significant association. Our results suggest that heavy metal exposure, at low levels, may contribute to an increased prevalence of dyslipidemia in Korean adults.

Keywords: heavy metals; serum lipid profiles; dyslipidemia; KoNEHS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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