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Associations of ambient manganese exposure with brain gray matter thickness and white matter hyperintensities

Hypertension Research volume 46, pages 1870–1879 (2023)Cite this article

A Comment to this article was published on 09 June 2023

Abstract

Manganese (Mn) exposure is associated with increased risks of dementia and cerebrovascular disease. However, evidence regarding the impact of ambient Mn exposure on brain imaging markers is scarce. We aimed to investigate the association between ambient Mn exposure and brain imaging markers representing neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular lesions. We recruited a total of 936 adults (442 men and 494 women) without dementia, movement disorders, or stroke from the Republic of Korea. Ambient Mn concentrations were predicted at each participant’s residential address using spatial modeling. Neurodegeneration-related brain imaging markers, such as the regional cortical thickness, were estimated using 3 T brain magnetic resonance images. White matter hyperintensity volume (an indicator of cerebrovascular lesions) was also obtained from a certain number of participants (n = 397). Linear regression analyses were conducted after adjusting for potential confounders. A log-transformed ambient Mn concentration was associated with thinner parietal (β = −0.02 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.05 to −0.01) and occipital cortices (β = −0.03 mm; 95% CI, −0.04 to −0.01) after correcting for multiple comparisons. These associations remained statistically significant in men. An increase in the ambient Mn concentration was also associated with a greater volume of deep white matter hyperintensity in men (β = 772.4 mm3, 95% CI: 36.9 to 1508.0). None of the associations were significant in women. Our findings suggest that ambient Mn exposure may induce cortical atrophy in the general adult population.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through the Core Technology Development Project for Environmental Diseases Prevention and Management, funded by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (grant No.2022003310011), and a faculty research grant (grant No. 6-2021-0245) from the Yonsei University College of Medicine.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Jaelim Cho and Changsoo Kim

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Shinyoung Woo, Jaelim Cho & Changsoo Kim

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Shinyoung Woo, Jaelim Cho & Changsoo Kim

  3. Department of Neurology, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea

    Young Noh

  4. Department of Preventive Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea

    Sang-Baek Koh

  5. Department of Radiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Seung-Koo Lee

  6. Korea Testing and Research Institute, Gwacheon, Korea

    Jung il Lee

  7. Department of Nano-chemical, biological and environmental engineering Seokyeong University, Seoul, Korea

    Ho Hyun Kim

  8. Department of Cancer Control and Population Health, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea

    Sun- Young Kim

  9. Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jaelim Cho & Changsoo Kim

  10. Institute of Human Complexity and Systems Science, Yonsei University, Incheon, Republic of Korea

    Jaelim Cho & Changsoo Kim

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Contributions

CK supervised the study and JC designed the study. SW wrote the original draft and analyzed the data. Validation: YN, S-BK, S-KL, JL, HHK, and S-YK. Conceptualization: JC and CK. Writing, review and editing: JC and CK. Funding acquisition: CK.

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Correspondence to Jaelim Cho or Changsoo Kim.

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Woo, S., Noh, Y., Koh, SB. et al. Associations of ambient manganese exposure with brain gray matter thickness and white matter hyperintensities. Hypertens Res 46, 1870–1879 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-023-01291-1

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