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This study investigates the combined effects of environmental pollutants (lead, cadmium, total mercury) and behavioral factors (alcohol consumption, smoking) on depressive symptoms in women. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018 cycle, specifically exposure levels of heavy metals in blood samples, were used in this study. The analysis of these data included the application of descriptive statistics, linear regression, and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) to explore associations between environmental exposures, behavioral factors, and depression. The PHQ-9, a well-validated tool that assesses nine items for depressive symptoms, was used to evaluate depression severity over the prior two weeks on a 0–3 scale, with total scores ranging from 0 to 27. Exposure levels of heavy metals were measured in blood samples. BKMR was used to estimate the exposure–response relationship, while posterior inclusion probability (PIP) in BKMR was used to quantify the likelihood that a given exposure was included in the model, reflecting its relative importance in explaining the outcome (depression) within the context of other predictors in the mixture. A descriptive analysis showed mean total levels of lead, cadmium, and total mercury at 1.21 µg/dL, 1.47 µg/L, and 0.80 µg/L, respectively, with a mean PHQ-9 score of 5.94, which corresponds to mild depressive symptoms based on the PHQ-9 scoring. Linear regression indicated positive associations between depression and lead as well as cadmium, while total mercury had a negative association. Alcohol and smoking were also positively associated with depression. These findings were not significant, but limitations in linear regression prompted a BKMR analysis. BKMR posterior inclusion probability (PIP) analysis revealed alcohol and cadmium as significant contributors to depressive symptoms, with cadmium (PIP = 0.447) and alcohol (PIP = 0.565) showing notable effects. Univariate and bivariate analyses revealed lead and total mercury’s strong relationship with depression, with cadmium showing a complex pattern in the bivariate analysis. A cumulative exposure analysis of all metals and behavioral factors concurrently demonstrated that higher quantile levels of combined exposures were associated with an increased risk of depression. Finally, a single variable-effects analysis in BKMR revealed lead, cadmium, and alcohol had a stronger impact on depression. Overall, the study findings suggest that from exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury, alcohol, and smoking, cadmium and alcohol consumption emerge as key contributors to depressive symptoms. These results highlight the need to address both environmental and lifestyle choices in efforts to mitigate depression.
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This content will become publicly available on February 1, 2026
Joint Effects of Lifestyle Habits and Heavy Metals Exposure on Chronic Stress Among U.S. Adults: Insights from NHANES 2017–2018
Background: Chronic stress, characterized by sustained activation of physiological stress response systems, is a key risk factor for numerous health conditions. Allostatic load (AL), a biomarker of cumulative physiological stress, offers a quantitative measure of this burden. Lifestyle habits such as alcohol consumption and smoking, alongside environmental exposures to toxic metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury, were individually implicated in increasing AL. However, the combined impact of these lifestyle habits and environmental factors remains underexplored, particularly in populations facing co-occurring exposures. This study aims to investigate the joint effects of lifestyle habits and environmental factors on AL, using data from the NHANES 2017–2018 cycle. By employing linear regression and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR), we identify key predictors and explore interaction effects, providing new insights into how cumulative exposures contribute to chronic stress. Results from BKMR analysis underscore the importance of addressing combined exposures, particularly the synergistic effects of cadmium and alcohol consumption, in managing physiological stress. Methods: Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize the dataset, and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess associations between exposures and AL. BKMR was employed to estimate exposure–response functions and posterior inclusion probabilities (PIPs), focusing on identifying key predictors of AL. Results: Descriptive analysis indicated that the mean levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury were 1.23 µg/dL, 0.49 µg/dL, and 1.37 µg/L, respectively. The mean allostatic load was 3.57. Linear regression indicated that alcohol consumption was significantly associated with increased AL (β = 0.0933; 95% CI [0.0369, 0.1497]; p = 0.001). Other exposures, including lead (β = −0.1056; 95% CI [−0.2518 to 0.0408]; p = 0.157), cadmium (β = −0.0001, 95% CI [−0.2037 to 0.2036], p = 0.999), mercury (β = −0.0149; 95% CI [−0.1175 to 0.0877]; p = 0.773), and smoking (β = 0.0129; 95% CI [−0.0086 to 0.0345]; p = 0.508), were not significant. BKMR analysis confirmed alcohol’s strong importance for AL, with a PIP of 0.9996, and highlighted a non-linear effect of cadmium (PIP = 0.7526). The interaction between alcohol and cadmium showed a stronger effect on AL at higher exposure levels. In contrast, lead, mercury, and smoking demonstrated minimal effects on AL. Conclusions: Alcohol consumption and cadmium exposure were identified as key contributors to increased allostatic load, while other exposures showed no significant associations. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing lifestyle habits and environmental factors in managing physiological stress.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2401878
- PAR ID:
- 10572779
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Xenobiotics
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2039-4713
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 7
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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