Association between metal mixture in urine and abnormal blood pressure and mediated effect of oxidative stress based on BKMR and Machine learning method.

BACKGROUND

Exposure to heavy metals represents a significant risk factor for hypertension and blood pressure disorders. Notably, current evidence indicates that the key biological processes of oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction are related to metal exposure and blood pressure dysregulation, ultimately contributing to cardiovascular pathogenesis. However, their underlying biological mechanisms remain incompletely characterized.

METHODS

A longitudinal study was performed among 45 healthy university students in Caofeidian, China. These participants were followed up in 4 seasons for physical examination and blood and urine samples collection between December 2017 and October 2018. we employed linear mixed effect model (LME), Bayesian kernel-machine regression (BKMR) and Machine learning (ML) to evaluate complex exposure-response relationships between multi-metal mixtures and blood pressure outcomes. Finally, we constructed the mediation analyses to analyze the potential intermediary roles of indicators in these association.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed significant associations between Cr, Mn, and Mo and elevated levels of 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and blood pressure (all P < 0.05), respectively. BKMR and ML further demonstrated both cumulative effects and interaction patterns within the metal mixture that collectively influenced blood pressure. Additionally, 8-iso-PGF2α is significantly positively correlated with SBP and was subsequently identified as a candidate mediator. Eventually, we found that the metals of Mn, Cr, and Mo were associated with SBP mediated by 8-iso-PGF2α with 24.6 %, 17.4 %, and 20.7 %, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings establish a mechanistic link between metal exposure and blood pressure dysregulation in young adults. Notably, the application of machine learning demonstrates novel utility in quantifying mixed metals on blood pressure and predicting the development of cardiovascular injury, providing a novel insight into environmental risk assessment methodologies.