Associations of heavy metals and essential trace elements exposures with rheumatoid arthritis: The potential…

Case-controlEcotoxicology and environmental safety· Jul 2026

Associations of heavy metals and essential trace elements exposures with rheumatoid arthritis: The potential mediating role of telomere length.

Chan-Na Zhao, Xunliang Li, Xiao-Xiao Li … Guo-Cui Wu

RheumatologyCase-controlPrognosisQ1IF 7.3

Telomere length was associated with 4.82% of lead's association with rheumatoid arthritis.

Associations of heavy metals and essential trace elements exposures with rheumatoid arthritis: The potential mediating role of telomere length.

Chan-Na Zhao … Guo-Cui Wu

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety · Jul 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Background

The relationships linking heavy metals and essential trace elements to rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis) risk have not been fully elucidated.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between multi-metal exposure and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, and to assess the mediating role of telomere length (telomere length) in these associations.

Methods

This case-control study recruited 548 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 548 controls, quantifying peripheral blood concentrations of 15 metals (Cr, Mn, Co, Zn, Se, Sr, Mo, Sn, Sb, Cu, Ni, Cd, Ba, Tl, Pb) via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry).

n = 548 controls

Results

DNA protective caps' length explained this percentage of lead's link to rheumatoid arthritis

OR 0.82 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.98)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Overall concentrations of five heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Ni, Cd, and Ba) were positively associated with rheumatoid arthritis risk, primarily driven by exposures to Cu, Ni, and Cd.

More results

Conversely, overall concentrations of seven essential metals (Sn, Se, Mn, Cr, Zn, Sr, and Mo) were inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis risk, with Se, Sn, Mn, Sr, and Cr emerging as the main protective factors.

A U-shaped relationship emerged between the overall concentrations of these 12 metals and rheumatoid arthritis risk.

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Conclusion

Our study reveals that excessive heavy metals and insufficient trace essential elements increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, and emphasizes the potential mediating role of telomere length in this process.

Associations of heavy metals and essential trace elements exposures with rheumatoid arthritis: The potential mediating role of telomere length.

Associations of heavy metals and essential trace elements exposures with rheumatoid arthritis: The potential mediating role of telomere length.

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