A Pilot Study on the Association of Lead, 8-Hydroxyguanine, and Malondialdehyde Levels in Opium Addicts’ Blood Serum with Illicit Drug Use and Non-Addict Persons

Farzaneh Allahdinian Hesaruiyeh, Saeed Rajabi, Mohadeseh Motamed-Jahromi, Mohammad Sarhadi, Michelle L. Bell, Razieh Khaksefidi, Somayeh Sarhadi, Leili Mohammadi, Kamal Dua, Amin Mohammadpour and Paolo Martelletti
Additional contact information
Farzaneh Allahdinian Hesaruiyeh: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahreza Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahreza P.O. Box 311-86145, Iran
Saeed Rajabi: Student Research Committee, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348-45794, Iran
Mohadeseh Motamed-Jahromi: Nursing School, Fasa University of Medical Science, Fasa 74616-86688, Iran
Mohammad Sarhadi: Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute of Cellular and Molecular Sciences in Infectious Diseases, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan 98167-43463, Iran
Michelle L. Bell: School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Razieh Khaksefidi: Student Research Committee, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348-45794, Iran
Somayeh Sarhadi: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan 15847-43311, Iran
Leili Mohammadi: Environmental Health, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Research Institute of Cellular and Molecular Sciences in Infectious Diseases, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan 98167-43463, Iran
Kamal Dua: Centre for Inflammation, Centenary Institute, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
Amin Mohammadpour: Student Research Committee, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348-45794, Iran
Paolo Martelletti: Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: While a large body of literature has shown the health problems of illicit drug use, research is needed on how substance abuse impacts DNA damage and contaminants in blood, especially given Pb-contaminated opium. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the levels of lead (Pb), 8-hydroxy di-guanine (8-oxo-Gua), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the blood serum of opium addicts and non-addict people. The current study is a case–control study with a cross-sectional design. A sample of 50 opium-addicted and non-addict adults were chosen for this study using convenience and random sampling methods. Participants were divided into two groups: addicts and non-addicts. The atomic absorption spectroscopy method was used to measure the quantity of Pb, and the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method was used to measure the amount of 8-oxo-Gua and MDA. The data were analyzed using an independent t-test. The results show that the amount of Pb in the blood serum of addicted women and men was higher than levels in non-addict men and women, for the study participants ( p -value = 0.001). Blood levels were not significantly different between addicts and non-addicts for men or women for 8-oxo-Gua ( p -value = 0.647 for women and p -value = 0.785 for men) and MDA ( p -value = 0.867 for women and p -value = 0.995 for men). In general, addicts’ blood Pb levels were found to be substantially higher than those of normal non-addict persons in this pilot study. As a result, testing for blood Pb levels in addicts may be informative in instances when symptoms are inconclusive.

Keywords: addicts; lead; 8-hydroxyguanine; malondialdehyde; blood serum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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