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Associations of Plasma Copper, Magnesium, and Calcium Levels with Blood Pressure in Children: a Cross-sectional Study

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Abstract

Studies of the relationship of copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca) levels with blood pressure in children are limited. This cross-sectional study included 443 children aged 6–9 years from Guangzhou, China. Plasma concentrations of Cu, Mg, and Ca were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured with an electronic sphygmomanometer. Elevated SBP and DBP were defined as the 90th percentile or greater (age and sex specific) of reference values for Chinese children. Abnormal blood pressure (ABP) was defined as an elevated SBP and/or DBP. The plasma Cu concentration was positively correlated with blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and the C-reactive protein (CRP) level, whereas the plasma Mg and Ca concentrations were negatively correlated with SBP. A higher Cu concentration (T3 vs. T1) was associated with a higher risk of ABP (odds ratio (OR) 2.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20 to 5.40). In contrast, children in the top tertiles of Mg (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.98) and Ca (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.70) concentrations showed lower risks of ABP than those in the bottom tertiles. Path analysis showed that the CRP levels and BMI mediated the associations between the Cu concentration and ABP. We found that higher plasma Mg and Ca concentrations were negatively related to blood pressure in children aged 6–9 years. In contrast, a higher plasma Cu concentration was positively correlated with the risk of ABP, and the association was mediated by CRP and BMI.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all research members involved in the data collection for the study.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81973045), the Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2019A1515110163), and the Foundation of Bureau of Science and Technology of Foshan City (No. 1920001000294). The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Foshan Institute of Fetal Medicine, Affiliated Foshan Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

      Gengdong Chen

    2. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People’s Republic of China

      Yan Li, Shiksha Shrestha, Fengyan Chen, Zhaochang Huang & Zheqing Zhang

    3. Department of Clinical Nutrition, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518052, People’s Republic of China

      Guifang Deng & Yuanhuan Wei

    4. Department of Hygiene Detection Center, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People’s Republic of China

      Jialiang Pan

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    Contributions

    GDC and YL analyzed the data and wrote the paper. FYC, YHW, and ZCH contributed to the data collection. SS revised the manuscript, and GFD, JLP, and ZQZ designed the project, supervised the study, and revised the manuscript.

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    Correspondence to Jialiang Pan or Zheqing Zhang.

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    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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    The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the ethics committee of the School of Public Health at Sun Yat-sen University (No. 201549).

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    A written consent was obtained from the parent(s) or legal guardian of each subject after providing a thorough explanation of the study purpose.

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    Gengdong Chen and Yan Li contributed equally to this article.

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    Chen, G., Li, Y., Deng, G. et al. Associations of Plasma Copper, Magnesium, and Calcium Levels with Blood Pressure in Children: a Cross-sectional Study. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 815–824 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02201-z

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