Zaporožskij Medicinskij Žurnal (Apr 2020)
Biochemical changes in the organism of children as predictors of microsaturnism
Abstract
Purpose – to evaluate the low-dose effect of lead on the microelement state and the pre-nosological indicators of the health in preschool children living in conditions of its permanent impact. Materials and methods. Hygienic monitoring of lead, copper, and zinc in air, water, and foodstuffs was carried out in two industrial districts of Dniprо city and a “conditionally clean” district of a non-industrial city. To assess the prenosological state of health in the child contingent, 46 and 57 children from pre-school institutions in the observation areas city, aged 5 to 6 years and 20 children from the control area were examined in a similar way. Results. The average blood lead content in 70–100 % of children in industrial areas is 1.6–5 times higher than the normative and 9.5–30 times the control. In 33–66 % of the children examined in the industrial areas and 12 % of the controls, the urine lead concentration is 6.4–12.8 times higher than the standard. Hair lead concentration in preschoolers corresponds to the permissible level, but is 2–3.5 times higher than in the children from the control region, which was found in 73–78 % of the examined. Tooth lead concentration in the children from industrial areas is 4.6 times higher than the standard level recommended by WHO, and in the nail is 3.2 times the background values. The copper content in all biosubstrates of children is determined at the physiological level, and zinc – lower by 49–80 %. The elevated lead content in biosubstrates is accompanied by 1.2 and 1.9 times increase in urinary δ-ALA activity in the children from industrial areas as compared with the recommended norm, which was observed in 51–89 % of the children examined. Conclusions. The biochemical abnormalities identified in the body of children indicate the beginning of microsaturnism development, which in case of microelemental status violations, is the rationale for finding effective means of reducing the "lead pressure" on the child population health.
