Changing Blood Lead Levels and Oxidative Stress with Duration of Residence Among Taiwan Immigrants

Abstract

Immigrants lack appropriate health care access and other resources needed to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental health risks. Little is known about the impact of lead exposure and oxidative stress among immigrants. Thus, this study was to examine the differences between the blood lead levels (BLLs) and oxidative stress levels of immigrants and non-immigrants, and to investigate the determinants of increased BLLs or oxidative stress levels among immigrants. We collected demographic data of 239 immigrant women and 189 non-immigrant women who resettled in the central area of Taiwan. Each study participant provided blood samples for genotyping and for measuring blood metal levels and oxidative stress. Recent immigrants were at risk for elevated BLLs. Decreased BLLs, malondialdehyde (MDA), and increased blood selenium levels were significantly associated with duration of residence in Taiwan. Elevated BLLs and MDA in recent immigrants may serve as a warning sign for the health care system. The nation's health will benefit from improved regulation of living environments, thereby improving the health of immigrants.

Lead Exposure and Oxidative Stress: A Systematic Review

“…Two studies verifi ed elevated SOD activity in the study groups when compared with the controls (Ahamed et al 2008 ;Wieloch et al 2012 ), and 4 studies found no significant changes in SOD activity with raised BLLs (Jin et al 2006 ;Diouf et al 2006 ;Martinez et al 2013 ;Wu et al 2013 ). CAT activity was also signifi cantly higher in participants with higher BLLs in 3 studies (Ahamed et al 2006(Ahamed et al , 2008(Ahamed et al , 2011 but was substantially lower in subjects with higher BLLs in 1 study (Wieloch et al 2012 ).…”

“…Almeida Lopes et al case groups in which participants had not been diagnosed with a disease (2.36 ± 2.7 μg/dL; Table 3 ) (Wieloch et al 2012 ). The most frequently used biomarkers for Pb-induced OS were as follows: GSH (Siddiqui et al 2002 ;Ahamed et al 2006Ahamed et al , 2008Ahamed et al , 2011Diouf et al 2006 ;Jin et al 2006 ;Cabral et al 2012 ), MDA (Siddiqui et al 2002 ;Ahamed et al 2006Ahamed et al , 2008Ahamed et al , 2011Jin et al 2006 ;Cabral et al 2012 ;Wu et al 2013 ), SOD (Jin et al 2006 ;Diouf et al 2006 ;Ahamed et al 2008 ;Martinez et al 2013 ;Wieloch et al 2012 ;Wu et al 2013 ), CAT (Ahamed et al 2006(Ahamed et al , 2008(Ahamed et al , 2011Wieloch et al 2012 ;Martinez et al 2013 ), and GPx (Diouf et al 2006 ;Jin et al 2006 ;Ahamed et al 2008 ) (Table 3 ).…”

“…LPO was assayed by measuring the formation of MDA in 6 studies (Siddiqui et al 2002 ;Ahamed et al 2006Ahamed et al , 2008Jin et al 2006 ;Cabral et al 2012 ;Wu et al 2013 ) and the formation of TBARS in 1 study (Ahamed et al 2011 ). MDA concentrations were signifi cantly higher in subjects with higher BLLs in all the studies, with a positive correlation between BLLs and MDA concentrations in the studies by Siddiqui et al ( 2002 ), Ahamed et al ( 2008 ) and Cabral et al ( 2012 ), ( r 2 < 0.392, p < 0.01; r = 0.77, p < 0.05 and r = 0.37, p < 0.05, respectively).…”

Metal Concentrations in Newcomer Women and Environmental Exposures: A Scoping Review

“…Eight studies examined Pb concentrations in immigrant women (Table 1) [41,42,43,44,45,46,47]. Mean Pb levels, where reported, ranged from geometric means (GM) of 0.78 μg/dL (95% CI: 0.57, 1.10) in immigrants to Canada [37] to 29.5 μg/dL (95% CI: 25.9, 33.1) in immigrant Pb-poisoned women exhibiting pica behaviour in New York City, USA [41].…”

“…Only one study [46] examined metal levels by stratifying based on years since arrival in country. Immigrant women to Taiwan ( n = 239), 67 coming from mainland China, with the rest originating from elsewhere in southeast Asia, were grouped into two categories: (1) recent immigrants (≤5 years since arrival); and (2) less recent immigrants (>5 years since arrival).…”