Serum concentration of toxic metals and rare earth elements in children and adolescent

Biomonitoring studies are important for quantifying the body burden of pollutants and their possible effects on health. Serum concentration of 42 elements was assessed by ICP-MS in 89 children (7.2 ± 3.4 years old) from Bucharest (Romania). Levels of pollutants were compared with the clinical data obtained from routine blood tests. Clinical parameters were in the physiological range. Deficiencies of manganese, selenium, and zinc were discovered. Blood levels of elements were low. The highest levels were observed among children younger than six years. The sum of iron, selenium, barium, nickel, antimony, and cerium was positively associated with hemoglobin (Spearman rho = 0.217, P-value = 0.041), while the sum of copper, thallium, niobium, and tantalum was negatively associated (Spearman rho = −0.228, P-value = 0.032). Given the inherent sensitivity of the child population, additional studies are needed to assess the effects of these elements on their health.

生物监测（Biomonitoring）研究对于量化污染物的体内负荷及其对健康的潜在影响具有重要意义。本研究采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS），对89名来自罗马尼亚布加勒斯特的儿童（年龄7.2±3.4岁）血清中的42种元素浓度进行了检测。将检测所得的污染物水平与常规血液检测获取的临床数据进行对比分析后发现，所有临床参数均处于生理正常范围，且受试儿童存在锰、硒及锌缺乏的情况，部分元素的血液浓度偏低。其中，年龄不足6岁的儿童体内元素水平最高。相关性分析显示，铁、硒、钡、镍、锑及铈的元素总浓度与血红蛋白水平呈正相关（斯皮尔曼相关系数ρ=0.217，P值=0.041）；而铜、铊、铌及钽的元素总浓度则与血红蛋白水平呈负相关（斯皮尔曼相关系数ρ=−0.228，P值=0.032）。鉴于儿童群体固有的生理敏感性，需开展进一步研究以评估此类元素对儿童健康的影响。