Concentration of Selected Metals in Whole Blood, Plasma, and Urine in Short Stature and Healthy Children

Abstract

The short stature in children is defined as height below the third percentile from the mean for age and gender. This problem affects about 3% of young people. More than 20,000 children in Poland have problems with short stature. There is not much information available in the literature on the study of metals in blood, plasma, and urine in children with short stature. The study was conducted on a group of 56 short stature Polish children and 35 healthy children. The content of metals was determined using high-performance ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry methods. The study revealed significant differences between the content of selected metals in body fluids between a short stature group and healthy children. There were significant differences in the Fe, Cu, and Ni concentrations between the groups with respect to the hormonal therapy. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to the area where the children lived. The results showed no statistically significant differences between metal concentration and age, body weight, and height. The study demonstrated statistically significant differences between the content of metals in body fluids in short stature children compared with the healthy children. It seems that the difference in the concentration of certain elements may also be the result of growth hormone therapy and the interaction between various metals. Both the alterations in the content of metals and their mutual interactions may play an important role in the pathogenesis of short stature children.

Update of the risk assessment of nickel in food and drinking water

“…No association was observed between nickel concentration in blood, plasma and urine and the height of children (Klatka et al., 2015). This association was also investigated in a case–control study with Georgian children, and no significant association between short stature and nickel in hair was observed (Tabatadze et al., 2015).…”

Serum Vitamin D Components and Whole Blood Trace Elements Storage in Chinese Short Stature Children

“…Zn is essential for cell replication and DNA synthesis [6] , and its de ciency is considered to cause growth retardation [31][32] . Several evidences suggested SS group had signi cantly decreased Zn concentrations in whole blood and plasma [33] . In contrast, Yoshida, K. et.al claimed that low Zn level and Zn de ciency were not associated with idiopathic SS in Japanese children [6] .…”

“…In the present study, Cu and Mn concentration in SS children was signi cantly lower than that in the control group, which was in accord with previous researches in hair and whole blood [6,31] . Cu de ciency induces anemia, decreases absorption of vitamin B1, thus has an effect on various biological progress including growth [33] . Lower maternal blood Mn is associated with lower birth weight [38] .…”

Highly Selective Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Copper (II) and Its Application in Live Cell Imaging

“…For example, copper is integrated into various proteins and metalloenzymes that perform basic metabolic functions [3]. Copper deficiency could produce osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, and coronary heart disease [4]. However, excessive accumulation of copper can cause central nervous system damage and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Menken's, and Wilson's diseases [5–8].…”