HIV / STI
Exposure to environmental metals and prevalence of human papillomavirus: data from NHANES 2003-2016 Brandie DePaoli Taylor* Brandie DePaoli Taylor Akaninyene Noah Victor Adekanmni Yuanyi Zhang Abbey Berenson
Objective: It is becoming increasingly important to understand the impact of environmental exposures on human health. Exposure to heavy metals can influence immune system function possibly altering susceptibility and progression of infections. Few studies have considered if exposure to environmental metals may also impact the risk of common sexually transmitted infections in the population.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from 4,363 non-pregnant adults ages 18 and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Human papillomavirus (HPV) high-risk genotypes were the outcome of interest. Nine metals measured in urine were included in the analysis. Using a modified Poisson model with robust error variance prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. All models were adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, and the poverty index ratio.
Results: Urine barium (PR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06 -1.29), cadmium (PR 1.17, 95% CI 1.01-1.29), cesium (PR 1.28, 95% CI 1.06-1.55), mercury (PR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.36), lead (PR 1.19, 95% CI 1.03-1.39), antimony (PR 1.27, 95% CI 1.11-1.46), tungsten (1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.31), and uranium (PR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01-1.28) were associated with increased prevalence of HPV 16/18 genotypes. Interestingly, when stratified by males and females, these associations were only observed among female but not male participants (Figure 1).
Conclusions: We found that metal exposure is correlated with high-risk HPV genotypes, which are well known to cause cervical and other cancers. Future prospective studies and mechanistic studies should be conducted to better understand the impact of environmental pollutants on HPV.
