
Lead in saliva from lead-exposed and unexposed children
2008; Elsevier BV; Volume: 407; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.058
ISSN1879-1026
AutoresGlauce Regina Costa de Almeida, Clarice Umbelino de Freitas, Fernando Barbosa, José E. Tanus‐Santos, Raquel F. Gerlach,
Tópico(s)Radioactivity and Radon Measurements
ResumoWhole blood is used for diagnosis of lead exposure. A non-invasive method to obtain samples for the biomonitoring of lead contamination has become a necessity. This study 1) compares the lead content in whole saliva samples (Pb-saliva) of children from a city with no reported lead contamination (Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil) and children of a region notoriously contaminated with lead (Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil), and 2) correlates Pb-saliva with the lead content in the enamel microbiopsy samples (Pb-enamel) in the case of these two populations.From a population of our previous study that had included 247 children (4- to 6-year-old) from Ribeirão Preto, and 26 children from Bauru, Pb-saliva was analyzed in 125 children from Ribeirão Preto and 19 children from Bauru by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). To correlate Pb-saliva with Pb-enamel, we used Pb-enamel data obtained in our previous study. The Mann-Whitney test was employed to compare the Pb-saliva data of the two cities. Pb-saliva and Pb-enamel values were then Log10 transformed to normalize data, and Pb-saliva and Pb-enamel were correlated using Pearson's correlation coefficient.Median Pb-saliva from the Ribeirão Preto population (1.64 microg/L) and the Bauru population (5.85 microg/L) were statistically different (p<0.0001). Pearson's correlation coefficient for Log10 Pb-saliva versus Log10 Pb-enamel was 0.15 (p=0.08) for Ribeirão Preto and 0.38 (p=0.11) for Bauru.A clear relationship between Pb-saliva and environmental contamination by lead is shown. Further studies on Pb-saliva should be undertaken to elucidate the usefulness of saliva as a biomarker of lead exposure, particularly in children.
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