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Relationship of Blood Levels of Pb with Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Hb in Children Aged 0∼6 Years from Wuhan, China

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of blood lead (Pb) levels with copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and hemoglobin (Hb) in children aged from 0–6 years in Wuhan, China. A total of 1047 children from six communities, which were randomly selected in Wuhan city and three communities, located in the urban area and others in the suburban area, were recruited for this study between November 2012 and July 2013. The levels of elements in the blood were detected using an atomic absorption spectrometer, and Hb level was tested by an automated hematology analyzer. The results showed that the mean blood lead level (BLL) is 33.72 ± 19.03 μg/L. The BLL was significantly higher among boys than girls (P < 0.05). Higher BLL was also observed in suburbs compared to that in urban areas (P < 0.05). The BLL and Zn level were gradually increased with age. The elevated rate of BLL in children was 20.9 %, while the Zn deficiency rate was 65.0 %. And, the level of Hb in higher BLL group was significantly lower. Negative correlations of the blood levels of Pb with those of Cu (r = −0.087, P = 0.005), Mg (r = −0.102, P = 0.001), and Fe (r = −0.091, P = 0.003) were observed. These data suggested that the elevated rate of BLL in children from Wuhan is still higher according to the updated reference values in the USA. The deficiency of Cu, Mg, and Fe may indicate the elevation of lead absorption. The dietary supplement of Zn, Ca, and Fe in children requires more attention.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all members in Professor CH. Wang’s laboratory at Wuhan University for their valuable assistances and Dr. Guoxun Chen at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville for comments of the manuscript. The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81172628) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2014305020201).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Wuhan University, Donghu Road 115, Wuhan, 430071, People’s Republic of China

    Jingping Ye, Chuang Du, Lu Wang, Zhen Li, Shaoxin Huang, Hong Wang, Yongyi Bi & Chunhong Wang

  2. Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, People’s Republic of China

    Jingping Ye

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, Xiangnan College, Chenzhou, 423000, People’s Republic of China

    Liping He

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  1. Jingping Ye
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Correspondence to Chunhong Wang.

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Jingping Ye and Chuang Du contributed equally to this study and share first authorship.

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Ye, J., Du, C., Wang, L. et al. Relationship of Blood Levels of Pb with Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Hb in Children Aged 0∼6 Years from Wuhan, China. Biol Trace Elem Res 164, 18–24 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0200-8

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