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Could Consumption of Trace Element–Contaminated Rice Be a Risk Factor for Acute Interstitial Nephritis with Uncertain Etiology in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka?

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Abstract

Ingestion of toxic trace elements in the human body has been considered one of the major reasons for renal dysfunction. Chronic kidney disease with uncertain etiological factors (CKDu) is a recently described clinical entity in which the disease is found in geographically isolated pockets in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. In CKDu regions, an increasing number of cases are reported with acute interstitial nephritis without any known reason (AINu). However, recent exposure to certain risk behaviors or nephrotoxins, or both, is suspected for the AINu. Consumption of foods that are contaminated with trace elements is one of the main pathways of human exposure to environmental toxins. The current study was carried out to assess the possibility of trace element–contaminated rice consumption on the etiopathogenesis of AINu. Samples of rice consumed by 32 clinically diagnosed AINu cases were collected and analyzed for possible nephrotoxic trace elements. Out of 32 patients, 26 were histologically confirmed with tubulointerstitial disease. The results revealed that the mean values of Cd, As, and Pb were 0.18, 0.055, and 0.135 mg/kg, with ranges of 0.020–1.06, 0.012–0.222, and 0.003–0.744 mg/kg (on dry weight basis), respectively. This study indicated that the investigated toxic trace element levels of rice consumed by AINu were reasonably below the recommended levels of the Codex Alimentarius Commission of FAO and WHO. Hence, it is less likely that rice consumption is to be a risk factor for the etiology of AINu.

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Data Availability

The data set used or analyzed during the current study is not publicly available due to the pending examination of the postgraduate student (SP), but is available with the corresponding author upon a reasonable request.

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Funding

This research work was conducted with the financial support from the National Science Foundation (Grant No.: RPHS/2016/CKDu/06).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research, National Hospital, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Shakila Premarathne, Pasan Hewavitharane & Dulanjali Herath

  2. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Rohana Chandrajith & Sachintha Senarathne

  3. Nephrology and Kidney Transplant Unit, National Hospital, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Nishantha Nanayakkara

  4. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    C. D. Gamage

  5. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Neelakanthi Ratnatunga & Sulochana Wijetunge

  6. Centre for Education Research and Training On Kidney Diseases (CERTKiD), Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Zeid Badurdeen, N. Elladeniya, K. P. S. Madushan & K. O. C. U. Samarasiri

  7. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Shashika Guruge

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  1. Shakila Premarathne
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Contributions

Conceptualization: SP, RC, and NN; methodology: SP, RC, and NN; formal analysis: SS, NE, SG, and KO; sample preparation: PH and KP; data analysis: DH; interpretation of biopsies with scoring: NR; original draft preparation: SP; reviewing and editing: RC, NN, CD, NR, SP, ZB, and SW; and fund acquisition: RC, CDG, and NN.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rohana Chandrajith.

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Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2015/EC/32). Consent to participate in the study was taken in writing before the recruitment.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Could Consumption of Trace Element–Contaminated Rice Be a Risk Factor for Acute Interstitial Nephritis with Uncertain Etiology in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka?

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Premarathne, S., Chandrajith, R., Nanayakkara, N. et al. Could Consumption of Trace Element–Contaminated Rice Be a Risk Factor for Acute Interstitial Nephritis with Uncertain Etiology in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka?. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 2597–2605 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02880-2

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