Concentration of Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Aluminum, Arsenic and Manganese in Umbilical Cord Blood of Jamaican Newborns (original) (raw)

Levels of toxic and essential metals in maternal cord blood and anthropometry at birth: a pilot study

Journal of global health reports, 2021

Background Anthropometric parameters at birth are important indicators of child vulnerability to the risk of childhood illness, and consequently, the chance of survival and risk of diseases late in life. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between toxic (aluminium, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) and essential metals (copper, manganese, selenium and zinc) in maternal and umbilical cord blood samples, with newborn anthropometric parameters in a predominantly agricultural community of Ebony State, Nigeria.

Prenatal Exposure to Mercury, Manganese, and Lead and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Suriname: A Population-Based Birth Cohort Study

Toxics

Globally, adverse birth outcomes are increasingly linked to prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants, such as mercury, manganese, and lead. This study aims to assess an association between prenatal exposure to mercury, manganese, and lead and the occurrence of adverse birth outcomes in 380 pregnant women in Suriname. The numbers of stillbirths, preterm births, low birth weights, and low Apgar scores were determined, as well as blood levels of mercury, manganese, lead, and relevant covariates. Descriptive statistics were calculated using frequency distributions. The associations between mercury, manganese, and lead blood levels, on the one hand, and adverse birth outcomes, on the other hand, were explored using contingency tables, tested with the χ2-test (Fisher’s exact test), and expressed with a p value. Multivariate logistic regression models were computed to explore independent associations and expressed as (adjusted) odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). T...

Maternal blood cadmium, lead and arsenic levels, nutrient combinations, and offspring birthweight

BMC public health, 2017

Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are common environmental contaminants that have been associated with lower birthweight. Although some essential metals may mitigate exposure, data are inconsistent. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between toxic metals, nutrient combinations and birthweight among 275 mother-child pairs. Non-essential metals, Cd, Pb, As, and essential metals, iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn) were measured in maternal whole blood obtained during the first trimester using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Folate concentrations were measured by microbial assay. Birthweight was obtained from medical records. We used quantile regression to evaluate the association between toxic metals and nutrients due to their underlying wedge-shaped relationship. Ordinary linear regression was used to evaluate associations between birth weight and toxic metals. After multivariate adjustmen...

Establishing Relationship Between Maternal Sociodemographic Characteristics and Lead in Umbilical Cord Blood Serum

www.rphsonline.com, 2018

Aim: To find the correlation between the concentration of lead and maternal socio-demographic characteristics like age, living area (urban or rural), housing style (slum type, cemented, or floored), living place (near industry or far from industry), water supply (piped water or direct water from source) and epidemiological characteristics like mother's occupation, mother's gestation age, mother's active smoking habit. Method: A total of 100 umbilical cord blood serum samples were collected from Lala Lajpat Rai Medical (LLRM) College, Meerut and estimation of lead was done using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). This study was conducted between April 2014 and March 2015. Result and conclusions: Data suggested that the percentage of lead is more in cord blood serum samples of mother who were working and were non-housewife and residing in urban area due to exposure to traffic, industries and pollution. The correlation of mother's working place with lead concentration showed that the mothers who were industrial worker had more lead concentration whereas the level of heavy metal was found elevated in mother's who were drinking piped water. The data suggested that the mothers who smoked have more lead concentration in comparison to non-smoking mother.

Levels of toxic and essential metals in maternal and umbilical cord blood from selected areas of South Africa—results of a pilot study

Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2009

This pilot study uses concentrations of metals in maternal and cord blood at delivery, in seven selected geographical areas of South Africa, to determine prenatal environmental exposure to toxic metals. Samples of maternal and cord whole blood were analysed for levels of cadmium, mercury, lead, manganese, cobalt, copper, zinc, arsenic and selenium. Levels of some measured metals differed by site, indicating different environmental pollution levels in the regions selected for the study. Mercury levels were elevated in two coastal populations studied (Atlantic and Indian Ocean sites) with mothers from the Atlantic site having the highest median concentration of 1.78 mg/L ranging from 0.44 to 8.82 mg/L, which was found to be highly significant (p < 0.001) when compared to other sites, except the Indian Ocean site. The highest concentration of cadmium was measured in maternal blood from the Atlantic site with a median value of 0.25 mg/L (range 0.05-0.89 mg/L), and statistical significance of p < 0.032, when compared to all other sites studied, and p < 0.001 and p < 0.004 when compared to rural and industrial sites respectively, confounding factor for elevated cadmium levels was found to be cigarette smoking. Levels of lead were highest in the urban site, with a median value of 32.9 mg/L (range 16-81.5 mg/L), and statistically significant when compared with other sites (p < 0.003). Levels of selenium were highest in the Atlantic site reaching statistical significance (p < 0.001). All analysed metals were detected in umbilical cord blood samples and differed between sites, with mercury being highest in the Atlantic site (p < 0.001), lead being highest in the urban site (p < 0.004) and selenium in the Atlantic site (p < 0.001). To the best of our knowledge this pilot investigation is the first study performed in South Africa that measured multiple metals in delivering mothers and umbilical cord blood samples. These results will inform the selection of the geographical sites requiring further investigation in the main study.

Factors associated with blood lead concentrations of children in Jamaica

Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering, 2015

Lead is a heavy metal known to be detrimental to neurologic, physiologic, and behavioral health of children. Previous studies from Jamaica reported that mean lead levels in soil are four times that of lead levels in some other parts of the world. Other studies detected lead levels in fruits and root vegetables, which were grown in areas with lead contaminated soil. In this study, we investigate environmental factors associated with blood lead concentrations in Jamaican children. The participants in this study comprised 125 typically developing (TD) children (ages 2-8 years) who served as controls in an age- and sex-matched case-control study that enrolled children from 2009-2012 in Jamaica. We administered a questionnaire to assess demographic and socioeconomic information as well as potential exposures to lead through food. Using General Linear Models (GLMs), we identified factors associated with blood lead concentrations in Jamaican children. The geometric mean blood lead concentr...

Body burdens of mercury, lead, selenium and copper among Baltimore newborns

Environmental Research, 2011

Umbilical cord blood or serum concentrations of mercury, lead, selenium and copper were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in a population of 300 infants born Baltimore, Maryland. Geometric mean values were 1.37 μg/L (95% confidence interval: 1.27, 1.48) for mercury; 0.66 μg/dL (95% CI: 0.61, 0.71) for lead; and 38.62 μg/dL (95% CI: 36.73, 40.61) for copper. Mean selenium was 70.10 μg/L (95% CI: 68.69, 70.52). Mercury, selenium and copper levels were within exposure ranges reported among similar populations, whereas the distribution of lead levels was lower than prior reports; only one infant had a cord blood lead above 10 μg/dL. Levels of selenium were significantly correlated with concentrations of lead (Spearman's ρ = 0.20) and copper (Spearman's ρ = 0.51). Multivariable analyses identified a number of factors associated with one of more of these exposures. These included: increasing maternal age (increased lead); Asian mothers (increased mercury and lead, decreased selenium and copper); higher umbilical cord serum n-3 fatty acids (increased mercury, selenium and copper), mothers using Medicaid (increased lead); increasing gestational age (increased copper); increasing birthweight (increased selenium); older neighborhood housing stock (increased lead and selenium); and maternal smoking (increased lead). This work provides additional information about contemporary prenatal element exposures and can help identify groups at risk of atypical exposures.