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
. 2021 Jul 15:2021:7283514.
doi: 10.1155/2021/7283514. eCollection 2021.

Blood's Concentration of Lead and Arsenic Associated with Anemia in Peruvian Children

Ana Maria Linares  1 , Jason M Unrine  2 , Amanda Thaxton Wigging  3 , Juan C Tantalean  4 , Vlad C Radulescu  5
Affiliations

Blood's Concentration of Lead and Arsenic Associated with Anemia in Peruvian Children

Ana Maria Linares et al. J Environ Public Health. .

Abstract

This exploratory, descriptive cohort study (N = 60) determined lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) blood concentrations in Peruvian children and their association with hematological parameters of iron-deficient anemia (IDA) and anthropometric measurement. The mean age of children was 10.8 months (SD = 4.7) and ranged from 3 to 24 months old. Anemia (Hb levels below 10.5 g/dL) was found in 20% of this cohort. Additionally, microcytosis (MCV < 70 fL) was present in 54%, and hypochromia (MCH < 23 pg) in 42% of the group of children. Chi-square analysis showed that 88% of the children with anemia also had microcytosis and hypochromia (p < 0.001). Pb and As were detected in 100% of the infants' blood samples, and the concentrations were significantly higher in older infants than in younger ones. Pb and As were not associated with the sex, anthropomorphic parameters, or infant hemogram changes. Infants who received iron supplementation were 87% less likely to have low Hb compared with those who did not (OR = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.02-0.88, p=0.04). Herbal tea intake was significantly associated with microcytosis and hypochromia. Our finding uncovered that hematological parameters for anemia are modified in Peruvian children with high levels of microcytosis and hypochromia. Concentrations of Pb and As were above method detection limits in all Peruvian children, but these were not associated with IDA or anthropometric measurements. A large study, including other variables, would benefit from allowing a more complex model predicting anemia in Peruvian children.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.
    EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Schrenk D, Bignami M, Bodin L, Chipman JK, Del Mazo J, Grasl-Kraupp B, Hogstrand C, Hoogenboom LR, Leblanc JC, Nebbia CS, Nielsen E, Ntzani E, Petersen A, Sand S, Vleminckx C, Wallace H, Barregård L, Benford D, Broberg K, Dogliotti E, Fletcher T, Rylander L, Abrahantes JC, Gómez Ruiz JÁ, Steinkellner H, Tauriainen T, Schwerdtle T. EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), et al. EFSA J. 2024 Jan 18;22(1):e8488. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8488. eCollection 2024 Jan. EFSA J. 2024. PMID: 38239496 Free PMC article.
  • Concentrations of Lead and Arsenic in Mother's Milk and Children's Blood in Peruvian Breastfeeding Dyads.
    Linares AM, Thaxton-Wiggins A, Unrine JM. Linares AM, et al. J Hum Lact. 2024 Feb;40(1):69-79. doi: 10.1177/08903344231212430. Epub 2023 Dec 12. J Hum Lact. 2024. PMID: 38084709 Free PMC article.

References

    1. Subramaniam G., Girish M. Iron deficiency anemia in children. The Indian Journal of Pediatrics. 2015;82(6):558–564. doi: 10.1007/s12098-014-1643-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zavaleta N., Astete-Robilliard L. Effect of anemia on child development: long-term consequences. Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública. 2017;34(4):716–722. doi: 10.17843/rpmesp.2017.344.3346. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang M. Iron deficiency and other types of anemia in infants and children. American Family Physician. 2016;93(4):270–278. - PubMed
    1. Hauptman M., Bruccoleri R., Woolf A. D. An update on childhood lead poisoning. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2017;18(3):181–192. doi: 10.1016/j.cpem.2017.07.010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. López-Rodríguez G., Galván M., González-Unzaga M., Hernández Ávila J., Pérez-Labra M. Blood toxic metals and hemoglobin levels in Mexican children. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 2017;189(4):p. 179. doi: 10.1007/s10661-017-5886-6. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

-