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Little to Give, Much to Gain—What Can You Do With a Dried Blood Spot?

  • Early Life Environmental Health (H Volk and J Buckley, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Technological advances have allowed dried blood spots (DBS) to be utilized for various measurements, helpful in population-based studies. The following is a review of the literature highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of DBS and describing their use in multiple areas of research.

Recent Findings

DBS can track pollutant exposure to understand their impact on health. DBS can also be used for (epi-)genetic studies, to measure clinical biomarkers, and to monitor drug adherence. Advantages of DBS include being minimally invasive, requiring low blood volume, and being cost-effective to collect, transport, and store. Disadvantages of DBS include the hematocrit effect, which is related to the viscosity of the blood affecting its spread on to the filter paper, causing a major source of error when assessing concentrations, and the possibility of low DNA volume.

Summary

Numerous uses for DBS make them an important source of biomaterial but they require additional validation for accuracy and reproducibility.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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This study is supported by the Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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  1. Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 6710B Rockledge Dr, MSC 7004, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA

    Bryttany McClendon-Weary, Diane L. Putnick, Sonia Robinson & Edwina Yeung

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  1. Bryttany McClendon-Weary
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  2. Diane L. Putnick
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  3. Sonia Robinson
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  4. Edwina Yeung
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Correspondence to Edwina Yeung.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Early Life Environmental Health

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McClendon-Weary, B., Putnick, D.L., Robinson, S. et al. Little to Give, Much to Gain—What Can You Do With a Dried Blood Spot?. Curr Envir Health Rpt 7, 211–221 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-020-00289-y

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