Trace element status during aging in the EPIC-Potsdam study

长期以来，微量元素(TE)、硒(Se)、锌(Zn)、铜(Cu)、锰(Mn)、碘(I)和铁(Fe)被认为与2型糖尿病、心血管疾病(CVD)和癌症等主要年龄相关慢性疾病的发病机制有关。然而，来自观察性研究和试验的结果似乎有很大的异质性。我们在第一个资助期观察到，由铜、锌、锰、铁、碘和硒的血清水平组成的TE谱随着年龄的增长经历了特征性的变化，并与年龄相关疾病的风险有关。然而，到目前为止，这些关联的中介因素以及遗传和表观遗传决定因素在很大程度上是未知的。为了解决这些问题，我们将评估在EPIC-波茨坦研究中嵌套的糖尿病、心血管疾病和结直肠癌风险病例队列中收集的TE图谱和生物标记物、遗传和表观遗传学信息。此外，目前还不清楚TE特征与老年人身体功能的关系有多大。我们的目标是描述EPIC-DZD参与者的TE特征，这是大约20年后EPIC-波茨坦研究的重新评估，并调查TE与体能测量的关联。

The trace elements (TE) selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), iodine (I) and iron (Fe) have been hypothesized for a long time to be involved in the pathogenesis of major age-related chronic disease, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. However, there appears to be substantial heterogeneity of findings from observational studies and trials. We have observed in the first funding period that a TE profile consisting of the serum levels of Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, I, and Se, which are well known to affect each other’s homeostasis and metabolism, undergoes characteristic changes with aging and is associated with the risk of age-related diseases. However, mediating factors for these associations and genetic and epigenetic determinants of the profile are largely unknown so far. To address these points, we will evaluate TE profiles and biomarker, genetic and epigenetic information collected in a case-cohort on diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer risk nested in the EPIC-Potsdam study. Also, it remains unclear to what extent TE profiles are linked to physical function among elderly individuals. We aim to characterize TE in participants of EPIC-DZD, a re-assessment of the EPIC-Potsdam study after approximately 20 years, and to investigate associations of TE with measures of physical fitness.