RELATION BETWEEN ANEMIA AND BLOOD LEVELS OF LEAD, COPPER, ZINC AND IRON AMON CHILDREN | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine | ||
| Article 8, Volume 33, Issue 1, January 2009, Pages 103-117 PDF (478.13 K) | ||
| Document Type: Study paper | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejom.2009.672 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Hegazy AA1; Morsy A.1; Abd Elsalam M.2; RAM S.2; Zaher MM.3 | ||
| 1Department of Pediatric Medicine | ||
| 2Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine for Girls,Al-Azhar Univerisity | ||
| 3Department of Community and Occupational Medicine,**Department of Pediatric Medicine | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Anemia is a wide health problem among infants and children in many parts of the world, and is often associated with decreased some trace elements (iron, zinc, copper) and increased heavy metals as lead. Lead plumbing has contaminated drinking water for centuries and has contributed to elevated blood lead concentrations in children.Objectives: This study was done to determine the association of blood lead level (BLL) above 10μg ⁄ dl to the increased risk of anemia of varying severity. It also aimed at investigating the relationship between anemia and the changes in - blood iron, zinc and copper levels.Measurement of lead level in drinking water was also considered being a known -source of exposure to lead.Subjects and methods: The study is a cross-sectional performed on 60 children from the pediatric clinic in Al-Zhraa University hospital and special Pediatric clinic in a rural area. Venous blood samples were taken from the studied population for estimation of hematological parameters as well as iron and ferritin levels. The concentration of zinc, copper, and lead was measured in the serum using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. According to the level of hemoglobin, the studied population was divided into an anemic and a control group at a level more than 11g/dl .The anemic group was further classified into mild (Hb level 10-10.9 g ⁄dl ), moderate (Hb level 8-9.9 g ⁄dl) and severe (Hb level< 8g ∕dl) anemia. The studied subjects were also categorized into low (>10 μg/dl) and high (≥10 μg/dl) blood lead level groups.Results: Approximately 63.33% of the children had blood lead level more than and equal to 10μg/dl while only 36.67% of them had blood lead level less than 10μg/dl. At the blood lead level range of 10-20 μg/dl, significant association was obtained for mild and severe anemia. In children with anemia, the level of iron and ferritin were found to be significantly lower than those of the control groups (p value <0.001). However, other elements (zinc and copper) did not show any statistically significant difference between the anemic and the control groups. Environmental assessment of the lead level in drinking water revealed the presence of levels higher than the permissible limit determined by the World Health Organization (WHO).Conclusion: Elevation of Lead level in drinking water might be one of the causes behind increased BLL in children with anemia. Active steps should therefore be taken towards the control of lead pollution thus reducing the prevalence of anemia among children. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Lead; copper; zinc; iron; children; Anemia | ||
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