title: Associations of blood heavy metal levels with intraocular pressure.
abstract: Whether or which blood heavy metal levels (BHMLs) influence elevating intraocular pressure (IOP) are unknown. We examined the relationship among blood lead, mercury, and cadmium levels, blood pressure (BP), and IOP and assessed whether BP mediates these BHMLs-IOP associations.
  
  
  
  We analyzed data on 8371 adult (≥20 years) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2008 to 2012. Mediation analysis was used to examine the contribution of BP to the BHMLs-IOP relationship.
  
  
  
  IOP and three BHMLs were significantly associated with systolic and diastolic BP. But IOP was associated with only blood lead and mercury levels. BP significantly mediated lead-IOP and mercury-IOP associations: BP accounted for 20.5% and 14.2% of the association with IOP. Blood lead and mercury levels were significantly associated with IOP.
  
  
  
  BP significantly mediates the effects of those blood lead and mercury levels on IOP outcome. Prospective studies are needed to further examine the causal pathway from BHMLs to IOP elevation.
authors: Center for International Health Research, Rhode Island Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI; Department of Pediatrics, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors: Sangshin
authors: S
authors: Park
authors: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Electronic address: nchoi1@bwh.harvard.edu.
authors: Nam-Kyong
authors: NK
authors: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002104:Cadmium / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity; D008875:Middle Aged; D009798:Ocular Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Blood pressure; Cadmium; Heavy metal; Intraocular pressure; Lead; Mercury