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Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Bio-elements in the Human Hair of Uyghur Communities in an Oasis Area of Xinjiang, China

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Abstract

Located in central Asia, Xinjiang is characterized as a diverse environment in China, consisting of vast deserts, dotted oases, and high mountains. Due to the combined effect of climate conditions under such a diverse environment, there are large differences in human activities, living styles, and eating habits in farmland and grazing pastures between Xinjiang and other regions of China. This study aimed to investigate the variations and mechanisms of elemental distribution in the hair of Uyghur communities among different ages and genders and under different land use backgrounds in an oasis region in Xinjiang. Hair samples from 524 residents from four traditional farmland areas and two grazing pasture areas in Bai Cheng County in Xinjiang were collected, and the levels of thirteen elements were analyzed. The results indicated that the average levels of Cu, Mg, Mn, Zn, Ni, Co, Pb, Fe, Ca, Cd, Cr, As, and Se in the hair of Uyghur communities were within the background levels of Chinese and global residents’ hair. Overall, the levels of elements in the hair of women residents were higher than those of men residents. The levels of elements in the human hair of the middle-aged group were higher than those of child and older-aged groups. Elements Cr and Se in the hair of grazing pastures were higher than those of farmland areas. The levels of Cd, Pb, As, and Zn in the hair of farmland areas were higher than those of grazing pasture areas. The levels of Ca, Mg, Cu, and Fe in the hair of Uyghur communities were higher than those of other ethnic groups, while the toxic elements in the hair of residents in Bai Cheng were lower than those in other regions of China. Middle-aged people were exposed to higher levels of toxic elements in their daily activities compared to elderly and child groups. Also, adult groups need much more nutrients for their growth and intellectual development compared to child and elderly groups. The change in land use from grazing pastures to farmland increased the toxic trace element concentration levels in human hair. The significant differences in the overall concentration levels of elements in human hair among the different ethnic groups and regions can be attributed to the differences in lifestyles, cultural customs, dietary habits, and internal and external exposure routes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Professor Des Connell and Dr. Ross Sadler from Griffith University and Dr. Anwar Azizi from Peking University for their help in the revision of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA23100400).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 11 Datun Road, Beijing, 100101, China

    Muyesaier Tudi, Li Wang, Hairong Li, Shuangmei Tong, Jiangping Yu & Lin sheng Yang

  2. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Muyesaier Tudi, Li Wang, Hairong Li, Shuangmei Tong & Lin sheng Yang

  3. School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia

    Muyesaier Tudi & Qiming Jimmy Yu

  4. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Science, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi, 830011, Xinjiang, China

    Fengqing Jiang

  5. School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China

    Min Meng

  6. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Muhammad Ubaid Ali

  7. CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi’an, , 710061, China

    Muhammad Ubaid Ali

  8. Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, 2000 Jintong Road, Tangjiawan, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

    Huada Daniel Ruan

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  1. Muyesaier Tudi
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  2. Fengqing Jiang
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  3. Li Wang
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  4. Hairong Li
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  6. Jiangping Yu
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  7. Min Meng
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  8. Lin sheng Yang
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  9. Muhammad Ubaid Ali
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  10. Qiming Jimmy Yu
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  11. Huada Daniel Ruan
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Contributions

MT: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, validation, writing—original draft. FQJ: writing—review, editing, and supervision. LW: validation, resources, supervision. HRL: validation, resources, supervision: ST: validation, resources, supervision. JPY: validation, resources, supervision. MM: validation, resources, supervision. UMA: validation, resources, supervision. QJY: validation, resources, writing—review, editing, and supervision. RDH: validation, resources, writing—review, editing, and supervision. YLS: validation, resources, and project administration.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lin sheng Yang.

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Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

All participants from different communities were trained to understand the objectives of this study, and they agreed to participate. The current study was approved by the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Tudi, M., Jiang, F., Wang, L. et al. Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Bio-elements in the Human Hair of Uyghur Communities in an Oasis Area of Xinjiang, China. Biol Trace Elem Res 201, 3729–3745 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-022-03495-x

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