Associations of Toenail Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, Manganese, and Lead with Blood Pressure in the Normative Aging Study

Mordukhovich, Irina; Wright, Robert O.; Hu, Howard; Amarasiriwardena, Chitra; Baccarelli, Andrea; Litonjua, Augusto A.; Sparrow, David; Vokonas, Pantel; Schwartz, Joel

doi:10.1289/ehp.1002805

Cited by 121 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…(31, 33) A non-occupational study of elderly men in the Boston area measured toenail metal concentrations much lower than the welders from current study (in participants under the age of 72: (mean (SD) As: 0.08 (0.06); Cd: 0.01 (0.02); Mn: 0.3 (0.41); Pb: 0.28 (0.47)). (37) While some of these differences are due to age and other factors, the relative geographic similarity of that population with ours suggests there would be similar background level of environmental exposure to these metals, indicating that some portion of the discrepancy is due to occupational exposure to welding fumes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

“…(23) In the study of Boston-area elderly men previously cited, most correlations between metals were similar with the exception of Mn-Pb and Mn-As which showed higher correlations in our study. (37) Correlational similarities may be due to the way that these metals are co-regulated in the body regardless of absolute concentration values, and reflect similar geographical environmental exposures. It is unclear whether higher welder correlations are due only to occupational exposure to welding fume, and in general the extent to which correlations seen in one occupational setting will be comparable to another occupational study or to an environmental exposure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(29–31) Such studies have measured toenail metal concentrations of methylmercury, (32, 33) Pb, (34, 35) Cd, (36, 37) As, (38–40) Mn, (24, 41) Ni (20) and more. Mn and Ni have been isolated in toenail samples from welders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toenail Metal Concentration as a Biomarker of Occupational Welding Fume Exposure

Grashow¹,

Jinming²,

Fang

et al. 2014

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

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In populations exposed to heavy metals, there are few biomarkers that capture intermediate exposure windows. We sought to determine the correlation between toenail metal concentrations and prior 12 month work activity in welders with variable, metal-rich, welding fume exposures. Forty-eight participants, recruited through a local union, provided 69 sets of toenail clippings. Union-supplied and worker verified personal work histories were used to quantify hours welded and respirator use. Toenail samples were digested and analyzed for lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) using ICP-MS. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to examine the correlation between toenail metal concentrations. Using mixed models to account for multiple participation times, we divided hours welded into three-month intervals and examined how weld hours correlated with log-transformed toenail Pb, Mn, Cd, Ni and As concentrations. Highest concentrations were found for Ni, followed by Mn, Pb and As, and Cd. All of the metals were significantly correlated with one another (rho range=0.28-0.51), with the exception of Ni and As (rho=0.20, p=0.17). Using mixed models adjusted for age, respirator use, smoking status and BMI, we found that Mn was associated with weld hours 7-9 months prior to clipping (p = 0.003), Pb was associated with weld hours 10-12 months prior to clipping (p=0.03) and over the entire year (p=0.04). Cd was associated with weld hours 10-12 months prior to clipping (p=0.05), and also with the previous year's total hours welded (p=0.02). The association between Ni and weld hours 7-9 months prior to clipping approached significance (p=0.06). Toenail metal concentrations were not associated with the long-term exposure metric, years as a welder. Results suggest Mn, Pb, and Cd may have particular windows of relevant exposure that reflect work activity. In a population with variable exposure, toenails may serve as useful COMPETING INTERESTSThe authors declare they have no competing financial interests. HHS Public Access

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Toenail Metal Concentration as a Biomarker of Occupational Welding Fume Exposure

Grashow¹,

Jinming²,

Fang

et al. 2014

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

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“…A number of studies have investigated the relation between mercury levels and autism in children (Holmes et al, 2003;Ip et al, 2004;Adams et al, 2007;Kern et al, 2007;Geier et al, 2010;HertzPicciotto et al, 2010;Majewska et al, 2010;Woods et al, 2010;Kaluzna-Czaplinska et al, 2011;Lakshmi Priya and Geetha, 2011;De Palma et al, 2012;Wright et al, 2012). The results of these studies do not give a coherent picture of an association between biomarkers of mercury and autism in children.…”

Section: Postnatal Exposure and Observations In Childhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

2012

EFS2

463

160

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EFSA was asked by the European Commission to consider new developments regarding inorganic mercury and methylmercury toxicity and evaluate whether the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) provisional tolerable weekly intakes for methylmercury of 1.6 µg/kg body weight (b.w.) and of 4 µg/kg b.w. for inorganic mercury were still appropriate. In line with JECFA, the CONTAM Panel established a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for inorganic mercury of 4 µg/kg b.w., expressed as mercury. For methylmercury, new developments in epidemiological studies from the Seychelles Child Developmental Study Nutrition Cohort have indicated that n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish may counteract negative effects from methylmercury exposure. Together with the information that beneficial nutrients in fish may have confounded previous adverse outcomes in child cohort studies from the Faroe Islands, the Panel established a TWI for methylmercury of 1.3 µg/kg b.w., expressed as mercury. The mean dietary exposure across age groups does not exceed the TWI for methylmercury, with the exception of toddlers and other children in some surveys. The 95 th percentile dietary exposure is close to or above the TWI for all age groups. High fish consumers, which might include pregnant women, may exceed the TWI by up to approximately six-fold. Unborn children constitute the most vulnerable group. Biomonitoring data from blood and hair indicate that methylmercury exposure is generally below the TWI in Europe, but higher levels are also observed. Exposure to methylmercury above the TWI is of concern. If measures to reduce methylmercury exposure are considered, the potential beneficial effects of fish consumption should also be taken into account. Dietary inorganic mercury exposure in Europe does not exceed the TWI, but inhalation exposure of elemental mercury from dental amalgam is likely to increase the internal inorganic mercury exposure; thus the TWI might be exceeded. This opinion focuses only on the risks related to dietary inorganic mercury and methylmercury exposure and does not assess the nutritional benefits linked to certain foods (e.g. fish and other seafood).A call for annual collection of chemical contaminant occurrence data in food and feed, including mercury, was issued by EFSA in December 2010. In response, EFSA received 59 820 results on mercury in food from 20 European countries, mainly covering the period from 2004 to 2011. A total number of 59 650 results were described with sufficient detail to be used in the statistical analysis of the respective food groups; 98.2 % of the samples were for total mercury, 1.8 % for methylmercury and three samples for inorganic mercury.All the 20 food groups available at the first level of FoodEx were covered in the current data collection. The food groups 'Fish and other seafood' and 'Meat and meat products' dominated the food product coverage with 36.8 % and 17.6 % respectively. These were followed by 'Grain and grain-based products' at 7.8 % and 'Vegetables an...

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“…Iron overload is directly associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis progression and increased cardiovascular risk [26] Reports that iron chelation with deferoxamine decreases endothelial dysfunction and has been successfully used to reduce cardiovascular risk in diabetic and non-diabetic patients [27]. Lead causes cardiovascular effects even at low doses and it has been associated with hypertension in animals and humans [28]. Peripheral arterial, coronary heart and cerebral vascular diseases had been also associated with Pb exposure, but further studies are needed to establish its causality [29].…”

Section: Cardiovascular Toxic Effects Of Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Effects of Metals in Particulate Matter

Fortoul¹,

Rodríguez-Lara²,

González-Villalva³

et al. 2015

Current Air Quality Issues

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Associations of Toenail Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, Manganese, and Lead with Blood Pressure in the Normative Aging Study

Cited by 121 publications

References 64 publications

Toenail Metal Concentration as a Biomarker of Occupational Welding Fume Exposure

Toenail Metal Concentration as a Biomarker of Occupational Welding Fume Exposure

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

Health Effects of Metals in Particulate Matter

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