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Oxidative damage associated with exposure to heavy metals present in topsoils in central Chile

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Abstract

Exposure to heavy metals may cause the overproduction of reactive oxygen species, generating oxidative stress and consequently, various harms to human health. The soil surrounding the Ventanas Industrial Complex, in Puchuncaví and Quintero municipal districts on the central Chilean coast, contains heavy metal concentrations (As, Cu, Pb, Zn, among others) that far exceed the maximum permissible levels established by Italian soil standards (used as a reference). This study aimed to investigate the potential association between heavy metal exposure in humans and the levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in inhabitants of these locations. We took blood samples from 140 adults living in sites with high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and compared them with blood samples from 140 adults living in areas with normal heavy metal concentrations. We assessed lipid peroxidation, damage to genetic material, and Total Antioxidant Capacity in these blood samples. Our results indicate an association between oxidative damage and heavy metal exposure, where the inhabitants living in exposed areas have a higher level of DNA damage compared with those living in control areas. Given that DNA damage is one of the main factors in carcinogenesis, these results are of interest, both for public health and for public policies aimed at limiting human exposure to environmental pollution.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Research Department, Universidad de Valparaíso under Grant CIDI08/2017 and by Interdisciplinary Centre for Health Studies under FONDECYT Regular Fund and FONDECYT Initiation Fund 11191049 (JAP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Center for Health Studies (CIESAL), Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile

    Eva Madrid & Maite Berasaluce

  2. Química y Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Arturo Prat, Iquique, Chile

    José A. Pino

  3. Centro Regional de Investigación e Innovación para la Sostenibilidad de la Agricultura y los Territorios Rurales (Ceres), Quillota, Chile

    Isabel González-Miranda

  4. Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

    Isabel González-Miranda

  5. Department of Basic and Clinical Oncology, School of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Felipe Cardemil

  6. Facultad de Medicina, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar, Chile

    Felipe Martinez

  7. Department of Public Health–CIGES, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile

    Sergio Muñoz

  8. Biomedical Research Center (CIB), Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile

    Sebastián San Martín

  9. Instituto de Química, Facultad de de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

    Juan Reyes

  10. Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó, Chile

    José A. Pino

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  1. Eva Madrid
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  2. José A. Pino
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  3. Sergio Muñoz
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  4. Felipe Cardemil
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  7. Sebastián San Martín
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  8. Juan Reyes
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  9. Isabel González-Miranda
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Contributions

Conceptualization of the research contributed by EM, SSM, IG; project administration contributed by EM, IG-M; methodology proposal contributed by EM, IG-M, FC, SSM, SM, JP, FM; data collection contributed by IG-M, EM, JP; laboratory work contributed by JR, EM, JP; data Analysis contributed by IG-M, EM, FC, FM, SM; writing—original draft contributed by MB, IG, EM, SM; review and editing contributed by all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isabel González-Miranda.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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The research protocol was approved by the Regional Health Service’s ethics committee, Hospital Dr. Gustavo Fricke (CEC 46/2012). All participants were informed about the study and sampling protocols, and signed a written consent form.

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Madrid, E., Pino, J.A., Muñoz, S. et al. Oxidative damage associated with exposure to heavy metals present in topsoils in central Chile. Environ Geochem Health 45, 9891–9901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01771-w

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