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LEAD CONCENTRATION IN HUMAN HAIR IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER OF THE ALTAI REPUBLIC

2021; ECO-vector; Volume: 28; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.33396/1728-0869-2021-6-4-11

2949-1444

Е. А. Чанчаева, Maria G. Sukhova, Tatiana K. Kurilenko,

Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity

Background: Liquid and solid fuels are the main source of lead (Pb) in urban settings. Some household items have also been identified as sources of lead. Thus, monitoring of this trace element in humans remains an important public health issue. Aim: To assess concentration of lead in hair of residents of Gorno-Altaisk city - the administrative center of the Altai Republic and to estimate the proportion of the population with high hair concentration of lead. Methods: Hair samples were collected from 122 (50.8 % men) neither smoking nor taking mineral supplements healthy permanent residents of Gorno-Altaisk aged 4-50 years. Fifty-three percent of them lived in the central part of the city. Concentration of led in the hair samples was estimated by atomic absorption method. Differences in average concentrations across genders, age-groups and locations were studied using Mann - Whitney tests. Associations between continuous variables were studied by non-parametric correlation analysis. Results: The average lead hair concentration in Gorno-Altaisk was 3.18 mg/kg which exceeds the values previously reported from other Russian settings (0.5-3.0 mg/kg). Twenty-six percent of residents had hair concentration of lead above the maximum allowed level of 5.0 mg/kg. Hair lead concentration positively correlated with age (r = 0.54), but was not associated with either gender or place of residence. Conclusions: Average concentration of led in human hair in Gorno-Altaisk is high, but it does not exceed the maximum allowed level. More than every fourth resident of the city has hair lead concentration exceeding biologically acceptable level. We found significant associations between hair lead concentrations and age, but not with gender or place of residence.