Blood toxic metals and hemoglobin levels in Mexican children

Abstract

Metal toxicity can cause hematologic abnormalities and hemolysis. To evaluate the relationship of anemia with metal contamination in children, the following elements were quantified in dry blood: silicon, chromium, lead, titanium, vanadium, nickel, arsenic, manganese, and cadmium. A total of 88 samples of anemic children and 208 of non-anemic children aged 6-12 years were analyzed. Lead (35.1%), chromium (24.3%), vanadium (24.3%), nickel (45.6%), and silicon (48.6%) were identified in the samples, with titanium only detected in anemic children. The average level of arsenic was higher in anemic than non-anemic children (0.041 ± 0.11 wt% vs 0.014 ± 0.05 wt%, p < 0.05) and correlated with the concentration of hemoglobin (r = -0.441, p < 0.01). In conclusion, heavy metals, which confer a health risk, were detected in the dry blood of the children evaluated, and the levels of arsenic and titanium were found to be related to anemia.

Hematotoxicity of intratracheally instilled arsenic trioxide in rats

“…The RDW showed little change among the different groups. The first among the possible reasons for these findings is that the total amount of arsenic entering the body by respiration was limited [15]; second, the differentiation of RBCs in the bone marrow hematopoietic system fully compensated for the effects of the arsenic; third, arsenic induced eryptosis was characterized by cell shrinkage [16]; and lastly, the effects on differentiation of bone marrow erythrocytes had not yet appeared [17]. In contrast to the results reported by Luo et al [18], RDW was significantly decreased in the HD group at 12 h. It is likely that because arsenic and phosphorus are of the same group and have the same valence state, they have a competitive relationship in metabolism and that arsenic thus directly inhibits ATPase activity on the erythrocyte membrane, affecting glucose metabolism, and then affecting the morphology of RBCs [19,20].…”

Health effects of arsenic exposure in Latin America: An overview of the past eight years of research

“…In a cross-sectional study of 83 children between 5 to 12 years of age, living in San Luis Potosi (SLP), Mexico, where more than 80% of the participants were exposed to As above 10 μg/L, UAs in the upper tertile was significantly associated with kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) after adjusting for potential covariates (β=362.68, 95% CI: 3.12, 722.25) (Cardenas-Gonzalez et al, 2016). In a study conducted in the state of Hidalgo where WAs contamination was common, dry BAs was used as an exposure biomarker that demonstrated negative correlation with hemoglobin in blood of 5-12 year-old children (r = -0.44, p<0.01) indicating that As could be a risk factor of anemia (Lopez-Rodriguez et al, 2017). In a pilot study of 40 children from two areas of Mexico with different As exposure characteristics (low vs high), the level of apoptosis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was found to be positively correlated with urinary As (r=0.40; p=0.01) (Rocha-Amador et al, 2011b).…”

“…BAs was also used in investigating the role of As exposure in developing anemic condition. In a study of 6-12 year-old children (n=296) in Hidalgo province of Mexico including both anemic and non-anemic children, As was higher in anemic than non-anemic children's blood (0.041 ± 0.11 wt% vs 0.014 ± 0.05 wt%, p < 0.05) and BAs was negatively correlated with hemoglobin (r = −0.441, p < 0.01) indicating link of As contamination with anemia (Lopez-Rodriguez et al, 2017).…”

Are Titania Photocatalysts and Titanium Implants Safe? Review on the Toxicity of Titanium Compounds

“…Therefore, its possible impacts on the food chain and the agricultural damage must be considered. Moreover, a statistical study in Mexico has suggested that titanium in the blood, ingested by insufficiently treated water, might be related to low haemoglobin content, and thus anaemia in children [ 86 ].…”