Adjusted Urinary Metal Concentrations and Regional Air Pollution Data from the Swiss Plateau (2016–2019)

This dataset contains covariate-adjusted urinary metal concentrations from 276 patients who underwent standardized provoked metal excretion testing between January 2016 and November 2019 in central Switzerland, along with time-lagged regional air pollution data. All patients lived within a 60 km radius of our clinic in the Swiss Plateau (Mittelland), a densely populated region between the Jura and the Alps. The study was initiated following a noticeable spike in urinary uranium concentrations in spring 2017, coinciding with elevated fine dust levels and increased heating activity. Air pollution data — including PM₁₀, PM₂.₅, indirectly calculated PM₁₀–₂.₅, elemental carbon (EC), NO₂, SO₂, and CO — were retrieved from the NABEL station Zurich-Kaserne, located approximately 27 km (17 miles) from the clinic. This site was selected as the primary exposure reference due to its comprehensive and uninterrupted dataset. Given the strong synchrony of pollutant levels across official Swiss Plateau NABEL stations, confirmed by heatmap correlations (see sheet "PM10 NABEL Swiss Plateau Correl"), Zurich-Kaserne is considered representative of regional air quality for the entire patient cohort. <br><br><br>README <br>File: AP–Metals–Adjusted–DDI–PM2.5–Imputed.xlsx This Excel file contains fully processed data for environmental toxicology research, including covariate-adjusted urinary metal concentrations, lagged air pollution exposure (Lag 0 to -26), and inter-site PM₁₀ correlations. <br><br>Sheet Overview: <br><br>PM10 NABEL Swiss Plateau Correl: Spearman correlation matrix showing inter-site PM₁₀ synchrony across the Swiss Plateau. <br><br>Main pollutant sheets (e.g., PM10, PM2.5, EC, etc.): Exam date 27 lagged pollutant values (14-day means) <br><br>Patient metadata (age, sex, CRN) Fully adjusted metal values (log-transformed, age/CRN-corrected, sex-specific residuals, Yeo-Johnson transformed) <br><br>Preprocessing Summary: Creatinine values adjusted to age 50 (CRN50) using sex-specific formulas from &gt;1600 provoked urine samples. <br><br>Exclusion criteria: CRN50 &lt; 0.15 or &gt; 3.5 g/L; Aluminum/CRN &gt; 140 µg/g (to minimize dilution bias and iatrogenic contamination). <br><br>Imputation: Uranium, Bismuth: Uniform imputation in [DL/3, DL] Other metals: MICE with age, CRN, and other metal concentrations (if Al/CRN &lt; 140). Log-transformation of metals, covariate adjustment via linear regression (logCRN50, age), and sex-specific Yeo-Johnson transformation.<br>PM₂.₅ imputed using ridge regression (predictors: PM₁₀, EC, NO₂, SO₂, CO for the same lag). PM₁₀–₂.₅ calculated as PM₁₀ minus imputed PM₂.₅; not imputed separately.