Associations between serum copper, zinc, selenium level and sex hormones among 6–19 years old children and adolescents in NHANES 2013–2016

Copper, zinc, and selenium are essential trace elements for human and have important effects on sex hormones. There are few studies on the relationships between the three trace elements and sex hormones. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the relationships between serum copper, zinc, selenium and testosterone, estradiol, SHBG using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2016 in participants 6-19 years. 1097 participants were enrolled and stratified into male/female children and adolescents. Weighted linear regression models combined regression diagnosis were used to estimate the relationships between trace elements and sex hormones according to the different stratifications. Our results showed that copper was inversely associated with testosterone and estradiol but positively correlated with SHBG. Zinc had positive relationships with testosterone in male adolescents and female children but an inverse relationship with testosterone in female adolescents. Furthermore, a negative association was observed between zinc and SHBG. With the rise of selenium level, testosterone and estradiol were increased but SHBG was decreased. In general, this study used more standardized statistical methods to investigate the relationships between copper, zinc, selenium and testosterone, estradiol, SHBG. Further study should pay attention to some details in statistical methods.