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Inflammation May Mediate the Effects of Fluoride on Liver and Kidney Function of Adults: Cross-Sectional Studies in China.
| Biological Trace Element Research | Geng M, Cheng Y, Duan L, Dong G, Yang S, Jiao X, Jia W, Huang H, Dou M, Fu X, Yu F, Du Y, Zhou G, Ba Y. |
China Sex-related difference Kidney Liver Serum-F Urine-F Human Study

Abstract

To assess associations among fluoride exposure, the inflammation, and liver and kidney functions, a total of 1646 adults aged >18 years were recruited in cross-sectional studies conducted in 2017 and 2022 in fluorosis areas. Questionnaire surveys were administered to obtain the demographic information. Urine and blood samples were collected for determinations of urinary fluoride (UF), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), serum uric acid (SUA), and white blood cell (WBC) counts. Linear regressions, generalized linear models, and mediation analyses were employed here. We found that AST, BUN, and SUA increased by 0.589, 0.087, and 4.226 with a 1 mg/L increment of UF, and the SCr showed a negative linear association with UF (B = -0.790) in all. Similar results were also observed in female. However, we only found the positive linear association between UF and AST/ALT in male. We also detected a significant modification by gender on associations between UF and values of AST, ALT, BUN, and SCr. Besides, participants with higher UF levels had higher counts of monocytes (B = 0.014) and neutrophils (B = 0.147) both in all and in stratified analyses of gender. Associations between AST/ALT, TBIL, SCr, SUA, and counts of WBC were revealed. In addition, there were mediator effects of monocytes and neutrophils in associations between UF and BUN (or SUA). We observed similar results in the age group of 46–64 years with those in all participants. This study observed a statistically significant association between UF and adult levels of AST, SCr, BUN, SUA, as well as monocyte and neutrophil counts, particularly in females. Furthermore, alterations in monocyte and neutrophil counts partially mediate the association between UF and BUN (or SUA). Our findings reveal the effects of fluoride exposure on liver and kidney function and provide clues for analyzing the relevant mechanism from an inflammatory perspective.

Supplementary Information

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ESM 1  (DOC 510 KB)

ABSTRACT ONLINE AT https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-025-04583-4

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant numbers: 81972981 and 82003401], the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [Grant numbers: 2022T150586 and 2021M692904], the Henan Provincial Science and Technology Department Research Project [Grant number: 242102310118], and the key project of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students [Grant number: 202410459060].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

    Minghao Geng

  2. Department of Environmental Health & Environment and Health Innovation Team, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

    Yi Cheng, Shuo Yang, Hui Huang, Fangfang Yu, Guoyu Zhou & Yue Ba

  3. Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

    Leizhen Duan

  4. Department of Basic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

    Guangshen Dong

  5. Department of Endemic Diseases, Puyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Puyang, 457005, Henan, China

    Xuecheng Jiao

  6. Department of Endemic Diseases, Zhengzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengzhou, 450006, Henan, China

    Weihua Jia

  7. School of Water Conservancy and Transportation, School of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

    Ming Dou

  8. Department of Preventive Health Care, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

    Xiaoli Fu

  9. National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

    Yuhui Du