Levels of urinary lead among populations in heavy metal polluted area of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,2014-2020
Objective To investigate the urinary lead levels among populations in heavy metal polluted areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,and to provide scientific data for supporting heavy metal pollution prevention and control in these areas.Methods Three administrative villages were selected as the representative polluted areas in a typical heavy metal pollution area in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from 2014 and 2020.In the adjacent area 30-50 km away from the polluted areas,an administrative village with similar natural conditions,economic development level and living habits of the polluted areas,and having no mining and smelting enterprises,was selected as the control area.A random sampling method was used to select local residents aged 18-70 years who had lived locally for more than 3 years,mainly consumed locally produced food and vegetables,and had no occupational exposure to heavy metals to serve as the research subjects,and their urine samples(80-100 ml)were collected.The urinary lead levels were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS),and the level,detection rate and excess criterion rate of urinary lead were calculated.Results The study included 3,529 subjects from the polluted areas and 1,415 ones from the control area.The median urinary lead level based on mean(M)and inter quartile range(IQR)was significantly higher in the polluted areas than in the control area(3.85(4.11)μg/L vs.2.34(2.22)pg/L),showing statistically significant differences in the urinary lead levels between the polluted areas and the control area(Z=18.708,P＜0.001).The detection range of urinary lead in the polluted areas was ND-276.02 μg/L,and four subjects with excessive urinary lead were found,with the excess criterion rate of urinary lead being 0.11％.The detection range of urinary lead in the control area was ND-34.22 μg/L,and no subjects with excessive urinary lead were found.The detection rate of urinary lead in the control area was lower than that in the polluted areas(85.51％vs.91.16％),showing a statistically significant difference(x2=34.392,P＜0.001).Within the same study area,the detection rate of urinary lead was higher in males than in females as well as higher in smokers than in non-smokers.The urinary lead levels of the subgroups in the polluted areas were all higher than those of the subgroups in the control area(all P＜0.05).The detection rates of urinary lead in the polluted areas increased with the increase of residence duration(x2trend=11.892,P＜0.001).Non-smokers and non-drinkers in the polluted areas demonstrated higher detection rates of urinary lead compared with their counterparts in the control area(smoking:x2=30.670,P＜0.001;drinking:x2=45.912,P＜0.001).After adjusting for demographic characteristics,the results of covariance analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in the urinary lead levels between the polluted areas and the control area(F=120.444,P＜0.001).Conclusion The populations residing in the heavy metal polluted areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region experience a relatively low risk of adverse health effects attributable to lead exposure,and there are differences in genders,residence duration,and personal habits.However,environmental lead pollution still potentially impacts the people's health.
lead exposureurinary leadheavy metalpopulations in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
