Sex differences in the link between blood cobalt concentrations and insulin resistance in adults without diabetes

Abstract

Background Little is known about the effects of environmental cobalt exposure on insulin resistance (IR) in the general adult population. We investigated the association between cobalt concentration and IR. Methods A total of 1281 subjects aged more than 20 years with complete blood cobalt data were identified from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015–2016 cycle. Blood cobalt levels were analyzed for their association with IR among all populations and subgroups by sex. Regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of blood cobalt concentrations in association with fasting glucose, insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were estimated using multivariate linear regression after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, alcohol consumption, body mass index, education level, and household income. A multivariate generalized linear regression analysis was further carried out to explore the association between cobalt exposure and IR. Results A negative association between blood cobalt concentration (coefficient = − 0.125, 95% CI − 0.234, − 0.015; P = 0.026) and HOMA-IR in female adults in the age- and sex-adjusted model was observed. However, no associations with HOMA-IR, fasting glucose, or insulin were found in the overall population. In the generalized linear models, participants with the lowest cobalt levels had a 2.74% (95% CI 0.04%, 5.50%) increase in HOMA-IR (P for trend = 0.031) compared with subjects with the highest cobalt levels. Restricted cubic spline regression suggested that a non-linear relationship may exist between blood cobalt and HOMA-IR. Conclusions These results provide epidemiological evidence that low levels of blood cobalt are negatively associated with HOMA-IR in female adults.

Identifying Effects of Urinary Metals on Type 2 Diabetes in U.S. Adults: Cross-Sectional Analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2016

“…Interestingly, we observed a positive association between elevated urinary Co and prevalence of T2D. Previous population-based studies on the association between Co and T2D have not been consistent, and the results might differ according to the types of specimens [45,46]. Additionally, exposure to heavy metals may negatively affect kidney function, which may bias the associations between urinary metals and prevalence of diabetes in cross-sectional studies.…”

Vanadium, cobalt, zinc, and rubidium are associated with markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in a Greek population with obesity

“…On the contrary, in 47,595 women participating in the Sister Study, hypertension risk was associated with higher residential exposure to Co (33). In the NHANES cohort, urinary Co was negatively correlated with obesity in children/ adolescents (34) and with HOMA-IR in female adults (35) in the NHANES cohort. Hu et al (36) found that participants with higher urinary Co had a higher prevalence of obesity, insulin resistance, higher WC, and triglycerides, and lower HDL.…”

Accumulation of blood chromium and cobalt in the participants with metal objects: findings from the 2015 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

“…and Chen et al . found that female adults had higher Co levels than male adults [ 35 , 36 ]. However, this study showed that men were more likely than women to accumulate Co in the body.…”