Dietary patterns provide a comprehensive assessment of food consumption, including essential nutrients and potential exposure to environmental contaminants. While pro-vegetarian (PVG) dietary patterns have shown health benefits in adults, their effects on children are less well studied. This study aims to explore the association between children's adherence to the most common PVG dietary patterns and their exposure to metals, assessed through urine concentration. In our study, we included a population of 723 children aged 4-5-years from the (INMA) cohort in Spain. We calculated three predefined PVG dietary patterns, namely general (gPVG), healthful (hPVG), and unhealthful (uPVG), using dietary information collected through a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Urinary concentrations of various essential and heavy metals (Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo, Pb, and Cd) were measured using mass spectrometry. Additionally, urinary arsenic speciation, including arsenobetaine (AsB), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and inorganic arsenic (iAs), was measured. The sum of urinary MMA and iAs was used to assess iAs exposure. We estimated primary (PMI) and secondary iAs methylation (SMI) indices. To explore the association between PVG dietary patterns in quintiles and metal exposure, we utilized multiple-adjusted linear regression models and the quantile g-computation approach. Compared with the lowest quintile, participants in the highest quintile of gPVG showed a 22.7% lower urinary Co (95% confidence interval (CI): −38.7; −1.98) and a 12.6% lower Se (95%CI: −22.9; −1.00) concentrations. Second quintile of adherence to hPVG was associated with a 51.7% lower urinary iAs + MMA concentrations (95%CI: −74.3; −8.61). Second quintile of adherence to an uPVG was associated with a 13.6% lower Se levels (95%CI: −22.9; −2.95) while the third quintile to this pattern was associated with 17.5% lower Mo concentrations (95%CI: −29.5; −2.95). The fourth quintile of adherence to gPVG was associated with a 68.5% higher PMI and a 53.7% lower SMI. Our study showed that adherence to a gPVG dietary pattern in childhood may modestly reduce the intakes of some essential metals such as Co and Se. Further investigations are warranted to explore any potential health implications.

中文翻译：

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INfancia y medio Ambiente 队列 (INMA) 中 4-5 岁儿童的素食饮食模式以及必需金属和重金属暴露

饮食模式提供对食物消耗的全面评估，包括必需营养素和潜在的环境污染物暴露。虽然赞成素食 (PVG) 的饮食模式已显示出对成人的健康益处，但其对儿童的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨儿童对最常见 PVG 饮食模式的坚持与通过尿液浓度评估的金属暴露之间的关系。在我们的研究中，我们纳入了来自西班牙 (INMA) 队列的 723 名 4-5 岁儿童。我们使用通过经过验证的食物频率问卷收集的饮食信息，计算了三种预定义的 PVG 饮食模式，即一般 (gPVG)、健康 (hPVG) 和不健康 (uPVG)。使用质谱法测量各种必需金属和重金属（Co、Cu、Zn、Se、Mo、Pb 和 Cd）的尿液浓度。此外，还测量了尿砷形态，包括砷甜菜碱 (AsB)、二甲基胂酸 (DMA)、一甲基胂酸 (MMA) 和无机砷 (iAs)。尿 MMA 和 iAs 的总和用于评估 iAs 暴露。我们估计了初级 (PMI) 和次级 iAs 甲基化 (SMI) 指数。为了探索五分位数的 PVG 饮食模式与金属暴露之间的关联，我们利用了多重调整的线性回归模型和分位数 g 计算方法。与最低五分位数相比，gPVG 最高五分位数的参与者的尿 Co 含量降低了 22.7%（95% 置信区间 (CI)：-38.7；-1.98），Se 含量降低了 12.6%（95% CI：-22.9；- 1.00）浓度。坚持 hPVG 的第二个五分位数与尿 iAs + MMA 浓度降低 51.7% 相关（95%CI：-74.3；-8.61）。坚持 uPVG 的第二个五分位数与 Se 水平降低 13.6% 相关（95%CI：-22.9；-2.95），而该模式的第三个五分位数与 Mo 浓度降低 17.5% 相关（95%CI：-29.5；-2.95）。 −2.95）。坚持 gPVG 的第四个五分位数与 PMI 升高 68.5% 和 SMI 降低 53.7% 相关。我们的研究表明，在儿童时期坚持 gPVG 饮食模式可能会适度减少某些必需金属（如钴和硒）的摄入量。有必要进行进一步调查以探索任何潜在的健康影响。