ReviewEnvironmental research2021
Sex-specific neurotoxic effects of heavy metal pollutants: Epidemiological, experimental evidence and candidate mechanisms.
Review in Environmental research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Lead and arsenic intoxications by traditional and alternative medicine: men are more sensitive than women.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Sex difference of pre- and post-natal exposure to six developmental neurotoxicants on intellectual abilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2023Pooled it
- Monitoring and Human Health Assessment of Trace Elements in Fresh and Dry Fish From Lake Kariba, Siavonga, Zambia.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Association Between Zinc-to-Copper Ratio and Hypertension in Populations with Differential Environmental Heavy Metal Exposure.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Prenatal methylmercury exposure disrupts developmental trajectories and induces sex-specific toxicity in pubertal rats.Research square · 2026Article
- Hepatic inflammation after exposure to a mixture of low-dose arsenic and cadmium in a murine model of fatty liver disease.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026Article
- Elucidating the multitarget neuroprotective mechanisms of protocatechuic acid in neurological disorders (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Assessment of two minimally invasive methodologies for sex identification in the European eel, Anguilla anguilla.Journal of fish biology · 2026Article
- Combined effects of heavy metals and volatile organic compounds on oxidative stress and cardiovascular risk.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2026Article
- Prenatal urinary biomarkers of metal and metalloid exposure and child neurodevelopmental outcomes in Puerto Rico.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Heavy metals and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections: a cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2016.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- The mediating role of vascular age in the association between blood metals and atherosclerosis from Manganese-exposed workers healthy cohort.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Associations of metal mixtures with insulin resistance and glucose homeostasis in U.S. adults from the NHANES 2011-2018.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Modulation of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis and tumor immunity by metals and metalloids: mechanistic insights and human health implications.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Sex differences in association of mixed exposure to blood cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, manganese with osteoporosis.Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2025Article
- Geochemical tales of individual lives in the industrial revolution: Untangling the impact of pollutant exposure in two English towns.Science advances · 2025Article
- Cadmium-induced gut dysbiosis precedes the onset of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory deficits in mice.Toxicology · 2025Article
- Blood and cerebrospinal fluid metallomics uncover mercury, chromium, and iron alterations inJournal of Parkinson's disease · 2025Article
- Metals and metalloids concentrations in adults aged 50 and older from Mexico.Research square · 2025Article
- Prenatal and childhood exposures to heavy metals and their associations with child cognition, motor skills, behaviour and mental health.Essays in biochemistry · 2025Review
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The heavy metals lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants and are known to exert severe adverse impacts on the nervous system even at low concentrations. In contrast, the heavy metal manganese (Mn) is first and foremost an essential nutrient, but it becomes neurotoxic at high levels. Neurotoxic metals also include the less prevalent metalloid arsenic (As) which is found in excessive concentrations in drinking water and food sources in many regions of the world. Males and females often differ in how they respond to environmental exposures and adverse effects on their nervous systems are no exception. Here, we review the different types of sex-specific neurotoxic effects, such as cognitive and motor impairments, that have been attributed to Pb, Hg, Mn, Cd, and As exposure throughout the life course in epidemiological as well as in experimental toxicological studies. We also discuss differential vulnerability to these metals such as distinctions in behaviors and occupations across the sexes. Finally, we explore the different mechanisms hypothesized to account for sex-based differential susceptibility including hormonal, genetic, metabolic, anatomical, neurochemical, and epigenetic perturbations. An understanding of the sex-specific effects of environmental heavy metal neurotoxicity can aid in the development of more efficient systematic approaches in risk assessment and better exposure mitigation strategies with regard to sex-linked susceptibilities and vulnerabilities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.