Exposure to Toxic Metals Linked to Faster Increases in Glycemia

MONDAY, Sept. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Exposure to toxic metals and alterations in essential metal homeostasis are associated with faster increases in glycemia over time in a high-risk Mexican American population, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in Diabetes Care.

Margaret C. Weiss, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues examined continuous glycemic traits in relation to baseline urinary toxic metal, essential metal, and metal mixtures in a cohort of Mexican American adults. Five hundred ten participants were selected and followed over three years.

The researchers found that faster increases in measures of glycemia were seen in association with higher urinary levels of arsenic, selenium, copper, molybdenum, nickel, and tin after adjustment. Faster increases in postload glucose were seen in association with the toxic metal mixture composed of arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, and tin. Highest versus lowest arsenic was predicted to accelerate conversion of normoglycemia to prediabetes by 23 months and to diabetes by 65 months using postload glucose criteria.

“This study further illuminates the deleterious impact of metals on metabolic health and reinforces the need to prioritize the environmental drivers of diabetes that have long been neglected by individual- and policy-level interventions,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to CVS/Health.

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