Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
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Correlation between Dementia and Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Manganese Concentrations in the Blood

치매환자 여부와 혈중 납, 카드뮴, 수은 및 망간 농도와의 상관성

  • Shin, Mi Hey (Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Ansan Hospital) ;
  • Lee, Seung Kil (Department of Environment and Public Health, Jangan University) ;
  • Kim, Kyong Hee (Institute for Environmental and Occupational Health, Korea University) ;
  • Choi, Jae Wook (Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University)
  • 신미혜 (고려대학교 안산병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 이승길 (장안대학교 환경보건과) ;
  • 김경희 (고려대학교 환경의학연구소) ;
  • 최재욱 (고려대학교 의과대학 예방의학교실)
  • Received : 2020.04.01
  • Accepted : 2020.04.29
  • Published : 2020.06.30
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Abstract

Objectives: The causes of dementia have been reported in various ways, but there has been little research on the interrelationship between heavy metals and dementia, and the results also show little consistency. Therefore, it is imperative to compare the levels of heavy metal exposure between the dementia-suffering group and a control group to confirm the correlation between the level of heavy metal exposure and the likelihood of dementia. Methods: In order to assess the dementia level of the elderly, the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were applied. To analyze the concentration of heavy metals in the blood, blood was collected from the veins of study subjects and measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between lead and manganese concentrations in the blood and the MMSE and GDS. It was found that there was a statistically significant correlation between cadmium concentration in the blood and the GDS, but the MMSE was less relevant. It was found that the blood mercury concentration and the MMSE and GDS were less relevant. The lead concentration in the blood was 0.95±0.74 ㎍/dL in the dementia patient group and 0.33±0.22 ㎍/dL in the normal group, while cadmium was 0.69±0.37 ㎍/L in the dementia group and 0.18±0.10 ㎍/L in the normal group. Mercury was 0.81±0.31 ㎍/L in the dementia group and 1.16±0.80 ㎍/L in the normal group. Manganese was 6.83±2.01 ㎍/L in the dementia group and 4.78±1.59 ㎍/L in the normal group. All of these show statistically significant differences. Conclusions: As the concentration of lead, cadmium and manganese in the blood increases, the MMSE scores and GDS scores were found to worsen, and it was confirmed that there is a correlation between heavy metal exposure and cognitive degradation.

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