혈중 납 농도와 역학적 요인 및 체내 철 수준과의 관련성

Abstract

Essential metals have been known to interact with non-essential toxic metals in the aspects of absorption,transport and deposition in the body. Iron deficiency has been reported to increase lead and/or cadmium absorp-tion. The relation between iron and lead has been understood well in children but not in adults. Two hundredseventy adults(118 males and 152 females) were recruited from 3 different residental areas (rural, coastal andurban) to investigate the effects of environmental lead exposure on body iron status. The subjects were inter-viewed for life-style and diet of the last 24 hours, and measured for blood lead and body iron. The lead concen-tration in the whole blood was determined by a flameless method using an atomic absorption spectrophotome-try. The body iron was evaluated with values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBCs, serum total iron, unsaturatediron binding capacity, total iron binding capacity and ferritin. The mean concentration of blood lead in adultwas 3.31g/dL. The concentration was higher in male(3.97g/dL) than in female(2.86g/dL). The blood leadwas influenced by residental area, life-style, smoking and drinking, occupation and diet habit of subjects, butnot by age. A positive correlation was observed between the blood lead level and the serum iron or ferritin.These results suggest that environmental lead exposure in Korean adult may not be higher than other developedand developing countries. It is further indicated that blood lead in adult could be influenced by life-style, andenvironmental and genetic factors but no inverse relation with body iron as shown in children.