Association of exposure to environmental vanadium and manganese with lung function among young children: A population-based study

Nai-Chia Fan; Hsin-Yi Huang; Shih-Ling Wang; Yu-Lun Tseng; Ju Chang-Chien; Hui-Ju Tsai; Tsung-Chieh Yao

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115430

Association of exposure to environmental vanadium and manganese with lung function among young children: A population-based study

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2023 Oct 1:264:115430. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115430. Epub 2023 Sep 4.

Authors

Nai-Chia Fan¹, Hsin-Yi Huang², Shih-Ling Wang², Yu-Lun Tseng², Ju Chang-Chien², Hui-Ju Tsai³, Tsung-Chieh Yao⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
² Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan. Electronic address: tsaihj@nhri.edu.tw.
⁴ Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: yao@adm.cgmh.org.tw.

PMID: 37672937
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115430

Abstract

Exposure to environmental metals has been associated with health outcomes including respiratory health. Little is known about the impact of exposure to environmental metals on lung function among young children in general population. This study aimed to investigate the associations of exposure to metals with lung function among young children in a population-based cohort. A total of 1488 children aged 5-8 years attended a follow-up visit as part of the Longitudinal Investigation of Global Health in Taiwanese Schoolchildren (LIGHTS) cohort. We measured urinary samples of vanadium (median: 1.21 ng/mL; interquartile range (IQR): 0.73-1.98), manganese (median: 0.23 ng/mL; IQR: 0.13-0.47), arsenic (median: 40.51 ng/mL; IQR: 21.66-70.49), nickel (median: 1.09 ng/mL; IQR: 0.31-3.60), and cadmium (median: 0.26 ng/mL; IQR: 0.11-0.43) and performed lung function tests. Urinary vanadium concentrations were inversely associated with FVC (β coefficient for the highest quartile versus the other quartiles: -33.40, p = 0.001), FEV₁ (β: -41.31, p < 0.001), FEV₁/FVC ratio (β: -1.00, p = 0.009), PEF (β: -92.12, p = 0.004), and FEF_25-75 (β: -82.85, p < 0.001), after adjusting for relevant confounders. Urinary manganese concentrations were inversely associated with FVC (β: -26.60, p = 0.007), FEV₁ (β: -31.62, p = 0.001), PEF (β: -84.86, p = 0.009), and FEF_25-75 (β: -69.21, p = 0.002). Stratification analyses found inverse associations of urinary vanadium and manganese concentrations with lung function parameters predominantly among children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. We did not find significant associations of urinary arsenic, nickel, and cadmium concentrations with lung function parameters. In conclusion, this study adds new evidence showing inverse associations of vanadium and manganese exposure with lung function among young children in the general population. Children with environmental tobacco smoke exposure are particularly vulnerable to adverse impact of vanadium and manganese exposure on lung function.

Keywords: Children; Environmental tobacco smoke; Lung function; Manganese; Metal; Vanadium.

MeSH terms

Arsenic* / toxicity
Cadmium
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Lung
Manganese / toxicity
Nickel
Tobacco Smoke Pollution*
Vanadium / toxicity

Substances

Manganese
Vanadium
Arsenic
Cadmium
Nickel
Tobacco Smoke Pollution