Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Sep 15;408(20):4488-94.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.06.041. Epub 2010 Jul 8.

Prevalence and predictors of exposure to multiple metals in preschool children from Montevideo, Uruguay

Katarzyna Kordas  1 , Elena I Queirolo, Adrienne S Ettinger, Robert O Wright, Rebecca J Stoltzfus
Affiliations

Prevalence and predictors of exposure to multiple metals in preschool children from Montevideo, Uruguay

Katarzyna Kordas et al. Sci Total Environ. .

Abstract

The extent of children's exposure to multiple toxic metals is not well described in many developing countries. We examined metal exposures in young children (6-37 months) from Montevideo, Uruguay and their mothers (15-47 years) participating in a community-based study. Hair samples collected from 180 children and their mothers were analyzed for: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), and arsenic (As) concentration using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Median metal levels (microg/g) were: Pb 13.69, Mn 1.45, Cd 0.17, and As 0.09 for children and Pb 4.27, Mn 1.42, Cd 0.08, and As 0.02 for mothers. Of the child and maternal samples, 1.7% and 2.9% were below the limit of detection (LOD) for Cd, and 21.3% and 38.5% were below the LOD for As, respectively. Correlations between maternal and child levels ranged 0.38-0.55 (p<0.01). Maternal hair metal levels were the strongest predictors of metal concentrations in children's hair. Girls had significantly lower As levels than boys (p<0.01) but did not differ on other metals. In addition, in bivariate logistic regressions predicting the likelihood that the child would be exposed to multiple metals, hemoglobin <10.5 g/dL (OR=2.12, p<0.05), blood lead (OR=1.17, p<0.01), and the mother being exposed to two or more metals (OR=3.34, p<0.01) were identified as significant predictors of increased likelihood of multiple metal exposure. Older child age (OR=0.96, p<0.05), higher maternal education (OR=0.35, p<0.01), and higher number of household possessions (OR=0.83, p<0.01) were significantly associated with decreased likelihood of multiple metal exposure. Preschool children in Uruguay are exposed to multiple metals at levels that in other studies have been associated with cognitive and behavioral deficits. Sources of exposure, as well as cognitive and behavioral consequences of multiple metal exposure, should be investigated in this population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Beneš B, Sladká J, Spĕváčková V, Šmíd J. Determination of normal concentration levels of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se and Zn in hair of the child population in the Czech Republic. Centr Eur J Publ Health. 2003;11:184–6. - PubMed
    1. Bouchard M, Laforest F, Vandelac L, Bellinger D, Mergler D. Hair manganese and hyperactive behaviors: pilot sutdy of school-age children exposed through tap water. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115:122–27. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chlopicka J, Zachwieja Z, Zagrodzki P, Frydrych J, Slota P, Krosniak M. Lead and cadmium in the hair and blood of children from a highly industrial area in Poland. Biol Trace Elem Res. 1998;62:229–234. - PubMed
    1. Claus Henn B, Téllez Rojo MM, Ettinger A, Schwartz J, Hernàndez-Avila M, Wright R, et al. Blood manganese and children’s neurodevelopment. Epidemiol. 2010;21:XXX–XXX. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181df8e52. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cory-Slechta DA. Studying toxicants as single chemicals: does this strategy adequately identify neurotoxic risk? Neurotoxicol. 2005;26:491–510. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

-