Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

α-Klotho is an anti-aging protein linked to various age-related diseases. Environmental metal exposure has been associated with oxidative stress and aging, but its effect on α-Klotho levels remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between urinary metal concentrations and serum α-Klo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xinliang Zheng, Wenxin Zhou, Zhuoying Jiang, Chan Ding, Minqian Feng, Yongxin Li, Fitri Kurniasari, Shuanghua Xie, Huadong Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Toxics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/4/237
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849713876058243072
author Xinliang Zheng
Wenxin Zhou
Zhuoying Jiang
Chan Ding
Minqian Feng
Yongxin Li
Fitri Kurniasari
Shuanghua Xie
Huadong Xu
author_facet Xinliang Zheng
Wenxin Zhou
Zhuoying Jiang
Chan Ding
Minqian Feng
Yongxin Li
Fitri Kurniasari
Shuanghua Xie
Huadong Xu
author_sort Xinliang Zheng
collection DOAJ
description α-Klotho is an anti-aging protein linked to various age-related diseases. Environmental metal exposure has been associated with oxidative stress and aging, but its effect on α-Klotho levels remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between urinary metal concentrations and serum α-Klotho levels using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2016 cycles. A total of 4071 adults aged 40 to 79 years were included in the analysis. After adjusting for potential confounders, positive associations were found between serum α-Klotho levels and barium (Ba), cesium (Cs), and molybdenum (Mo), while tungsten (W) and uranium (U) were negatively correlated with α-Klotho levels. The combined effects of multiple metals were further analyzed using the qgcomp model, which demonstrated a negative correlation between increased metal mixtures and serum α-Klotho levels. Specifically, U, total arsenic (t-As), W, cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), and lead (Pb) contributed to the reduction of α-Klotho levels, while Ba, Cs, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), Mo, thallium (Tl), and cobalt (Co) were positively associated with α-Klotho levels. These findings suggest that exposure to certain metals, particularly in combination, may reduce serum α-Klotho levels, potentially accelerating aging processes. Further studies should investigate the underlying mechanisms responsible for these associations.
format Article
id doaj-art-564abd59010043ee9600d7ff5e7f711e
institution DOAJ
issn 2305-6304
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Toxics
spelling doaj-art-564abd59010043ee9600d7ff5e7f711e2025-08-20T03:13:51ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042025-03-0113423710.3390/toxics13040237Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older AdultsXinliang Zheng0Wenxin Zhou1Zhuoying Jiang2Chan Ding3Minqian Feng4Yongxin Li5Fitri Kurniasari6Shuanghua Xie7Huadong Xu8School of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, ChinaDepartment of Environmental Health, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia, Depok 16424, West Java, IndonesiaDepartment of Central Laboratory, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing 100026, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, 182 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310013, Chinaα-Klotho is an anti-aging protein linked to various age-related diseases. Environmental metal exposure has been associated with oxidative stress and aging, but its effect on α-Klotho levels remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between urinary metal concentrations and serum α-Klotho levels using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2016 cycles. A total of 4071 adults aged 40 to 79 years were included in the analysis. After adjusting for potential confounders, positive associations were found between serum α-Klotho levels and barium (Ba), cesium (Cs), and molybdenum (Mo), while tungsten (W) and uranium (U) were negatively correlated with α-Klotho levels. The combined effects of multiple metals were further analyzed using the qgcomp model, which demonstrated a negative correlation between increased metal mixtures and serum α-Klotho levels. Specifically, U, total arsenic (t-As), W, cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), and lead (Pb) contributed to the reduction of α-Klotho levels, while Ba, Cs, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), Mo, thallium (Tl), and cobalt (Co) were positively associated with α-Klotho levels. These findings suggest that exposure to certain metals, particularly in combination, may reduce serum α-Klotho levels, potentially accelerating aging processes. Further studies should investigate the underlying mechanisms responsible for these associations.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/4/237α-Klothourinary metalsNHANESmetal mixturesaging biomarkers
spellingShingle Xinliang Zheng
Wenxin Zhou
Zhuoying Jiang
Chan Ding
Minqian Feng
Yongxin Li
Fitri Kurniasari
Shuanghua Xie
Huadong Xu
Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
Toxics
α-Klotho
urinary metals
NHANES
metal mixtures
aging biomarkers
title Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
title_full Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
title_fullStr Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
title_full_unstemmed Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
title_short Independent and Combined Associations of Urinary Heavy Metal Exposures with Serum α-Klotho in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
title_sort independent and combined associations of urinary heavy metal exposures with serum α klotho in middle aged and older adults
topic α-Klotho
urinary metals
NHANES
metal mixtures
aging biomarkers
url https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/4/237
work_keys_str_mv AT xinliangzheng independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT wenxinzhou independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT zhuoyingjiang independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT chanding independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT minqianfeng independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT yongxinli independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT fitrikurniasari independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT shuanghuaxie independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults
AT huadongxu independentandcombinedassociationsofurinaryheavymetalexposureswithserumaklothoinmiddleagedandolderadults