title: Hair elements and healthy aging: a cross-sectional study in Hainan Island, China.
abstract: Healthy aging is considered as the core issue of aging population. Centenarians are a symbol of healthy aging. Concentration of elements in hair is an indicator of micronutrient status, which can affect the human health. In the present study, we investigated element concentrations in the scalp hair of 255 healthy centenarians from Hainan Island, China. The pattern of intergenerational transmission of elements and the effects of confounders such as sex, age, education level, smoking habits, alcohol intake, and frequency of hospitalization on hair element concentrations were assessed. For most elements, the load in hair increased significantly through intergenerational transmission (i.e., centenarians < children < grandchildren). Our results also demonstrated that female centenarians had significantly higher concentrations of Ca, Mg, Mn, Se, and Sr but lower levels of Cr and P. The Mn level was statistically significantly lower in the primary studies group. Alcohol intake was positively associated with Cd and Na levels, whereas smoking habits showed no significant effect on all the elements. Furthermore, the frequency of hospitalization was significantly positively associated with Cd, Cu, and Pb concentration. Moreover, our analysis suggested that adequate concentrations of Fe and Se might increase the life span of centenarians, whereas excessive concentrations of P and Pb were harmful to health and reduced life span. These results imply that element concentrations could be manipulated as a therapeutic modality in geriatric disease. They might also provide reference values for diseased subjects, allowing improved diagnoses and more effective therapies, which might support effective policies on health and aging.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.|Key Laboratory of Engineering Oceanography, Second Institute of Oceanography, SOA, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. yhli@igsnrr.ac.cn.|Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Assessment and Remediation, Beijing, China. yhli@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yonghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Assessment and Remediation, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hairong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Assessment and Remediation, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wuyi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Damage Assessment and Remediation, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiangping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Centenarians; Confounders; Elements; Healthy aging; Intergenerational transmission