Concentration of Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Aluminum, Arsenic and Manganese in Umbilical Cord Blood of Jamaican Newborns

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Mohammad H. Rahbar²  Maureen Samms-Vaughan¹  Aisha S. Dickerson⁴  Manouchehr Hessabi⁴  Jan Bressler⁵  Charlene Coore Desai¹  Sydonnie Shakespeare-Pellington¹  Jody-Ann Reece¹  Renee Morgan¹  Katherine A. Loveland³  Megan L. Grove⁵  Eric Boerwinkle² 

[1] Department of Child & Adolescent Health, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica; E-Mails:;Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences (EHGES), University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA; E-Mail:;Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Research Design (BERD) Component, Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; E-Mails:;Human Genetics Center, University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA; E-Mails:

关键词: lead;    mercury;    aluminum;    arsenic;    cadmium;    manganese;    cord blood;    newborns;    Jamaica;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph120504481

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this study was to characterize the concentrations of lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum, and manganese in umbilical cord blood of Jamaican newborns and to explore the possible association between concentrations of these elements and certain birth outcomes. Based on data from 100 pregnant mothers and their 100 newborns who were enrolled from Jamaica in 2011, the arithmetic mean (standard deviation) concentrations of cord blood lead, mercury, aluminum, and manganese were 0.8 (1.3 μg/dL), 4.4 (2.4 μg/L), 10.9 (9.2 μg/L), and 43.7 (17.7 μg/L), respectively. In univariable General Linear Models, the geometric mean cord blood aluminum concentration was higher for children whose mothers had completed their education up to high school compared to those whose mothers had any education beyond high school (12.2 μg/L vs. 6.4 μg/L; p < 0.01). After controlling for maternal education level and socio-economic status (through ownership of a family car), the cord blood lead concentration was significantly associated with head circumference (adjusted p < 0.01). Our results not only provide levels of arsenic and the aforementioned metals in cord blood that could serve as a reference for the Jamaican population, but also replicate previously reported significant associations between cord blood lead concentrations and head circumference at birth in other populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.