Dietary Intake Is Associated with Biomarkers of Lead, Arsenic, and Cadmium in a Cohort of Mexican Adolescents

Yanelli Rodríguez-Carmona; Ana Baylin; Peter Xk Song; Edward Ruiz-Narvaez; Cindy W Leung; Alejandra Cantoral; John D Meeker; Niladri Basu; Martha María Tellez-Rojo; Karen E Peterson; Sung Kyun Park

doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.05.045

Dietary Intake Is Associated with Biomarkers of Lead, Arsenic, and Cadmium in a Cohort of Mexican Adolescents

J Nutr. 2025 Jun 5:S0022-3166(25)00328-1. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.05.045. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Epidemiological Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
² Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Electronic address: abaylin@umich.edu.
³ Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
⁴ Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
⁵ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
⁶ Health Department, Iberoamerican University, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁷ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
⁸ Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada.
⁹ Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
¹⁰ Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
¹¹ Department of Epidemiological Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.

PMID: 40480419
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.05.045

Abstract

Background: Lifestyle changes during adolescence can impact dietary habits and, subsequently, exposure to heavy metals.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the associations between food group intakes and metal exposures in a cohort of adolescents.

Methods: This study included 416 adolescents from Mexico City aged 10-18. Sociodemographic information at birth and repeated measurements of diet, anthropometry, and metal exposures were collected over 2 visits 3.5 ± 0.40 y apart (n = 514). Food groups (n = 31) were created based on the characteristics of 119 food frequency questionnaire items and metal dietary sources. Linear mixed-effect models were used to evaluate the associations between food group intake and exposure to blood lead, urinary arsenic, and urinary cadmium for the overall population (main models) and stratified by sex. Models were adjusted for age, sex (main models), maternal age, socioeconomic status, and specific gravity (only for urinary metals).

Results: Fruit intake in girls {2.63% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22%, 5.10%]}, and candy in boys [2.13% (95% CI: 0.40%, 3.88%)] and in the whole population [1.38% (95% CI: 0.16%, 2.61%)] were associated with higher blood lead levels. Additionally, leafy greens intake was associated with higher blood lead [10.75% (95% CI: -0.01%, 22.66%)]. Chicken intake in girls was associated with 5.95% (95% CI: 0.38%, 11.84%) higher urinary cadmium. Similarly, the intake of homemade sugar-sweetened beverages in girls [4.42% (35% CI: 0.13%, 8.89%)], and in the whole population [4.14% (95% CI: 1.42%, 6.94%)], was associated with higher urinary cadmium. Moreover, the intake of fish and seafood groups was positively associated with blood lead, urinary arsenic, and urinary cadmium.

Conclusions: We observed associations between food group intake and metal exposures in a group of Mexican adolescents using repeated measures of both outcomes and exposures. We also found that some of these associations varied by sex.

Keywords: adolescence; arsenic; cadmium; diet; lead.