Determination of Trace Metal Levels in the General Population of Korea

Hyun-Jun Kim, Hwan-Sub Lim, Kyoung-Ryul Lee, Mi-Hyun Choi, Nam Mi Kang, Chang Hoon Lee, Eun-Jung Oh and Hyun-Kyung Park
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Hyun-Jun Kim: Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Chungju 27376, Korea
Hwan-Sub Lim: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Clinical Laboratories, Yongin 16954, Korea
Kyoung-Ryul Lee: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Clinical Laboratories, Yongin 16954, Korea
Mi-Hyun Choi: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Science & Technology, Konkuk University, Chungju 27478, Korea
Nam Mi Kang: Konkuk University, Chungju 27478, Korea
Chang Hoon Lee: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Chungju 27376, Korea
Eun-Jung Oh: Department of Family Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Chungju 27376, Korea
Hyun-Kyung Park: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Clinical Laboratories, Yongin 16954, Korea

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of trace metals in the blood of the general Korean population. A total of 258 healthy individuals, according to their regular medical check-ups, (119 males and 139 females, age ranging from 12 to 78 years old) were enrolled from December 2014 to December 2016. Levels of 10 trace elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The geometric mean (GM) levels for lead, arsenic, cesium, mercury, aluminum, cadmium, copper, manganese, selenium, and zinc were 15.97 ?g/L, 7.19 ?g/L, 2.39 ?g/L, 3.41 ?g/L, 10.57 ?g/L, 0.78 ?g/L, 979.8 ?g/L, 11.06 ?g/L, 111.37 ?g/L, and 872.7 ?g/L, respectively. There were significant gender-related differences in the levels of several metals; male individuals had higher Pb, As, Cs, Hg, and Se than females, while females had higher Cd, Cu, and Mn than males. We noticed remarkably high blood levels of Hg, As and Al in the Korean population. The element concentrations reported represent a new contribution to the knowledge of the blood chemistry for the Korea population. The data can be used to assess the clinical health of this population.

Keywords: trace metal; inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry; Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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