Urinary Concentrations of Toxic and Essential Trace Elements among Rural Residents in Hainan Island, China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Yosuke Inoue⁴  Masahiro Umezaki⁴  Hongwei Jiang²  Dandan Li³  Jianwei Du³  Yuming Jin³  Bin Yang³  Bai Li¹  Yufeng Li¹  Chiho Watanabe⁴ 

[1] Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, 19B Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China; E-Mails:;Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan; E-Mail:;Hainan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 44 Haifu Road, Haikou, Hainan 57023, China; E-Mails:;Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; E-Mails:

关键词: toxic elements;    heavy;    trace elements;    urine;    economic development;    China;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph111213047

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Background: Toxic element exposure and essential trace element consumption may have changed after the Chinese economy transformed to a market-oriented system. The objectives of this study were to measure urinary concentrations of toxic (arsenic, cadmium, lead) and essential trace (selenium, zinc, copper) elements among rural residents in Hainan, China and to examine if variations in economic development are linked to differences in toxic and trace element exposure. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire-based survey and undertook anthropometric measurements of residents aged ≥20 years (n = 599). Urinary samples were collected and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results: The median (μg/g creatinine) element concentrations were: arsenic, 73.2; cadmium, 1.8; lead, 3.1; selenium, 36.5; zinc, 371; and copper, 11.0. Intra-community variation in element concentrations was explained by age (arsenic, cadmium, zinc and copper), sex (arsenic, cadmium and selenium: higher in females; zinc: higher in males), body mass index (cadmium) and individual involvement in the market economy as indexed by agrochemical use (lead and selenium). The degree of community-level economic development, which was determined by the proportion of people living in better housing among the study communities, was positively associated with cadmium concentration. Conclusions: The degree of community-level economic development was positively associated with urinary cadmium concentration while individual involvement in the market economy was positively associated with lead and selenium.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.