Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40295964›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Regional concentrations of heavy metals in surface soils and risk of body pain in elderly residential population: a national cohort study in China.

Bingjie Qu, Bifeng Hu, Rong Rong, Longfei Wu, Xiang Shi, Zheng Feei Ma, Linxi Yuan, Royston Goodacre, Kelvin P Jordan, Ying Chen

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Bingjie QuWisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
Bifeng HuDepartment of Land Resource Management, School of Public Administration, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, 330013, China.
Rong RongDepartment of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, Louisiana, USA.
Longfei WuCenter for Genetic Epidemiology and Genomics, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Xiang ShiDepartment of Biology, School of Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
Zheng Feei MaCentre for Public Health and Wellbeing, School of Health and Social Wellbeing, College of Health, Science and Society, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
Linxi YuanDepartment of Health and Environmental Sciences, School of Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
Royston GoodacreCentre for Metabolomics Research, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Kelvin P JordanSchool of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
Ying ChenWisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China. Ying.Chen01@xjtlu.edu.cn.

Funding

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University PGRS, no. 2012021
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe accumulation of heavy metals in surface soil raises significant environmental and public health concerns around the world. This study aimed to examine the relationship between exposure to heavy metals in surface soil and the risk of pain among residents.

methodsUsing national data on eight heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc) in China's surface soil and a population cohort from 2011 to 2018, we analyzed pain occurrences in various body locations. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between exposure to heavy metal in soil and pain, as adjusting for gender, age, education level, body mass index, living region, and lifestyle. The study included 13,178 individuals.

resultsHigher exposure to soil arsenic was found to be associated with increased risk of shoulders [adjusted odds ratio (99.99% CI), 1.49 (1.01, 2.19)], wrists [1.68 (1.06, 2.64)] and ankles pain [1.58 (1.01, 2.50)]. No association was found between the remaining seven heavy metals and different types of body pain.

conclusionOur results indicate that higher soil arsenic exposure is associated with an increased risk of pain in specific body regions. This study is the first examining the associations between multiple heavy metals in surface soil and the risks of pain in different body sites. Our findings provide new insights into the health risks of soil heavy metal exposure.

Indexed as

Environmental ExposureMetals, HeavyPainSoil PollutantsAgedAged, 80 and overChinaCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsMetals, HeavySoil PollutantsBody painCohort studyEnvironmental epidemiologyHeavy metalSurface soil

Identifiers

PMID40295964
PMCPMC12036196

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.