Table 2. Element concentrations (μg/L) in serum of patients and healthy subjects.
| Element | HS | SMC | MCI | AD | ANCOVAa | Pairwise comparisonsb(p value) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 40) | (n = 24) | (n = 20) | (n = 34) | F(3,106) | p value | ADvsHS | ADvsSMC | ADvsMCI | HSvsSMC | HSvsMCI | MCIvsSMC | |
| As | 3.13 ± 0.75(2.12 to 5.35) | 3.32 ± 0.60(2.05 to 4.56) | 3.39 ± 0.69(2.46 to 5.06) | 3.55 ± 1.08(2.20 to 5.99) | 1.204 | 0.312 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Co | 0.39 ± 0.07(0.23 to 0.56) | 0.41 ± 0.06(0.29 to 0.51) | 0.39 ± 0.06(0.27 to 0.49) | 0.39 ± 0.09(0.25 to 0.68) | 0.614 | 0.607 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Cu | 703.88 ± 244.03(358 to 1460) | 858.96 ± 224.19(335 to 1310) | 826.59 ± 235.46(407 to 1293) | 815.75 ± 206.00(370 to 1210) | 3.013 | 0.033 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | 0.049 | n.s. | n.s. |
| Fe | 1045.07 ± 271.05(594 to 1690) | 1192.72 ± 284.39(852 to 1780) | 1019.69 ± 247.51(584 to 1470) | 938.54 ± 209.79(590 to 1440) | 2.891 | 0.039 | n.s. | 0.003 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
| Hg | 0.62 ± 0.28(0.18 to 1.60) | 0.69 ± 0.33(0.21 to 1.42) | 0.67 ± 0.43(0.19 to 1.37) | 0.32 ± 0.27(0.06 to 1.09) | 8.732 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
| Mn | 1.24 ± 0.42(0.49 to 2.00) | 1.49 ± 0.64(0.53 to 3.04) | 0.91 ± 0.48(0.21 to 1.98) | 0.59 ± 0.32(0.06 to 1.18) | 14.783 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.030 | n.s. | 0.024 | 0.001 |
| Mo | 0.83 ± 0.26(0.37 to 1.34) | 0.99 ± 0.24(0.52 to 1.40) | 1.09 ± 0.36(0.040 to 1.75) | 1.20 ± 0.52(0.59 to 2.35) | 4.199 | 0.008 | 0.001 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
| Ni | 1.08 ± 0.38(0.38 to 2.38) | 0.99 ± 0.40(0.38 to 1.96) | 0.86 ± 0.27(0.38 to 1.48) | 1.10 ± 0.29(0.38 to 1.74) | 2.631 | 0.054 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
| Pb | 0.16 ± 0.17(0.03 to 1.05) | 0.12 ± 0.13(0.04 to 0.72) | 0.11 ± 0.06(0.05 to 0.26) | 0.13 ± 0.09(0.03 to 0.48) | 1.026 | 0.384 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
| Se | 82.62 ± 23.40(53 to 141) | 85.32 ± 18.75(56 to 116) | 65.41 ± 14.95(47 to 102) | 70.36 ± 19.28(33 to 116) | 3.199 | 0.026 | n.s. | 0.028 | n.s. | n.s. | 0.015 | 0.007 |
| Sr | 35.21 ± 9.84(19 to 67) | 38.53 ± 13.10(21 to 72) | 39.77 ± 12.17(27 to 81) | 42.84 ± 17.01(22 to 93) | 0.380 | 0.768 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tl | 2.62 ± 1.96*(0.6 to 11.2)* | 6.95 ± 13.09*(1.0 to 49.7)* | 3.3 ± 3.26*(0.4 to 12.6)* | 2 ± 1.96*(0.3 to 9.6)* | 2.841 | 0.041 | n.s. | 0.003 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
| Zn | 697.87 ± 184.95(425 to 1140) | 761.34 ± 152.83(471 to 956) | 604.70 ± 176.81(249 to 947) | 609.40 ± 164.31(348 to 953) | 3.420 | 0.020 | n.s. | 0.008 | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | 0.018 |
Results are reported as mean + standard deviation and (range).
acovariates (age, gender, education level, BMI, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, diuretics and supplements containing metals);
bBonferroni post-hoc analysis; *, value are 1*10–2; N/A, not applicable; n.s., not significant; HS, healthy subjects; SMC, subjective memory complaint; MCI, mild cognitive impairment; AD, Alzheimer’s disease.