Interaction of Stress, Lead Burden, and Age on Cognition in Older Men: The VA Normative Aging Study

Background: Low-level exposure to lead and to chronic stress may independently influence cognition. However, the modifying potential of psychosocial stress on the neurotoxicity of lead and their combined relationship to aging-associated decline have not been fully examined. Objectives: We examined t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental health perspectives 2010-04, Vol.118 (4), p.505-510
Main Authors: Peters, Junenette L., Weisskopf, Marc G., Spiro, Avron, Schwartz, Joel, Sparrow, David, Nie, Huiling, Hu, Howard, Wright, Robert O., Wright, Rosalind J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aging - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Bones
Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases
Cognition
Cognition - drug effects
Combined stress
Environment. Living conditions
Female
Health aspects
Humans
Lead
Lead - blood
Lead - metabolism
Lead - toxicity
Male
Medical sciences
Metals and various inorganic compounds
Middle Aged
Older adults
Oxidative stress
Patella
Psychological stress
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Stress (Psychology)
Stress, Psychological - physiopathology
Tibia
Toxicology
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Summary:Background: Low-level exposure to lead and to chronic stress may independently influence cognition. However, the modifying potential of psychosocial stress on the neurotoxicity of lead and their combined relationship to aging-associated decline have not been fully examined. Objectives: We examined the cross-sectional interaction between stress and lead exposure on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores among 811 participants in the Normative Aging Study, a cohort of older U.S. men. Methods: We used two self-reported measures of stress appraisal—a self-report of stress related to their most severe problem and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Indices of lead exposure were blood lead and bone (tibia and patella) lead. Results: Participants with higher self-reported stress had lower MMSE scores, which were adjusted for age, education, computer experience, English as a first language, smoking, and alcohol intake. In multivariable-adjusted tests for interaction, those with higher PSS scores had a 0.57-point lower (95% confidence interval, -0.90 to 0.24) MMSE score for a 2-fold increase in blood lead than did those with lower PSS scores. In addition, the combination of high PSS scores and high blood lead categories on one or both was associated with a 0.05–0.08 reduction on the MMSE for each year of age compared with those with low PSS score and blood lead level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Psychological stress had an independent inverse association with cognition and also modified the relationship between lead exposure and cognitive performance among older men. Furthermore, high stress and lead together modified the association between age and cognition.
ISSN:0091-6765
1552-9924
DOI:10.1289/ehp.0901115