Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Effect modification by vitamin D receptor genetic polymorphisms in the association between cumulative lead exposure and pulse pressure: a longitudinal study.

Authors: Jhun, Min A; Hu, Howard; Schwartz, Joel; Weisskopf, Marc G; Nie, Linda H; Sparrow, David; Vokonas, Pantel S; Park, Sung Kyun

Published In Environ Health, (2015 Jan 13)

Abstract: Although the association between lead and cardiovascular disease is well established, potential mechanisms are still poorly understood. Calcium metabolism plays a role in lead toxicity and thus, vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms have been suggested to modulate the association between lead and health outcomes. We investigated effect modification by VDR genetic polymorphisms in the association between cumulative lead exposure and pulse pressure, a marker of arterial stiffness.We examined 727 participants (3,100 observations from follow-ups from 1991 to 2011) from the Normative Aging Study (NAS), a longitudinal study of aging. Tibia and patella bone lead levels were measured using K-x-ray fluorescence. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VDR gene, Bsm1, Taq1, Apa1, and Fok1, were genotyped. Linear mixed effects models with random intercepts were implemented to take into account repeated measurements.Adjusting for potential confounders, pulse pressure was 2.5 mmHg (95% CI: 0.4-4.7) and 1.9 mmHg (95% CI: 0.1-3.8) greater per interquartile range (IQR) increase in tibia lead (15 μg/g) and patella lead (20 μg/g), respectively, in those with at least one minor frequency allele in Bsm1 compared with those with major frequency allele homozygotes. The observed interaction effect between bone lead and the Bsm1 genotype persists over time during the follow-up. Similar results were observed in effect modification by Taq1.This study suggests that subjects with the minor frequency alleles of VDR Bsm1 or Taq1 may be more susceptible to cumulative lead exposure-related elevated pulse pressure.

PubMed ID: 25582168 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging/physiology; Blood Pressure/physiology; Boston; Calcium/metabolism*; Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology*; Environmental Exposure/analysis; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Lead/toxicity*; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Patella/chemistry; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Receptors, Calcitriol/genetics*; Receptors, Calcitriol/metabolism*; Tibia/chemistry; Vitamin D/genetics*; Vitamin D/metabolism*; Young Adult

Back
to Top