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      Analysis of Blood Concentrations of Zinc, Germanium, and Lead and Relevant Environmental Factors in a Population Sample from Shandong Province, China

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          Abstract

          Trace elements, including zinc (Zn) and germanium (Ge), are essential for health; deficiency or excess levels of trace elements results is harmful. As a result of industrial and agricultural production, Pb widely exists in people’s living environment. It is absorbed mainly through the respiratory and digestive tracts, producing systemic harm. Reference values for a normal, healthy population are necessary for health assessment, prevention and treatment of related diseases, and evaluation of occupational exposures. Reference ranges for the Chinese population have not been established. From March 2009 to February 2010; we collected data and blood samples ( n = 1302) from residents aged 6–60 years living in Shandong Province, China. We measured blood concentrations of Zn, Ge, and Pb using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine reference ranges. Results were stratified by factors likely to affect the concentrations of these trace elements: sex, use of cosmetics or hair dye, age, alcohol intake, smoking habits, and consumption of fried food. The overall geometric mean (GM) concentrations (95% confidence interval) were 3.14 (3.08–3.20) mg/L for Zn, 19.9 (19.3–20.6) μg/L for Ge, and 24.1 (23.2–25.1) μg/L for Pb. Blood Zn concentrations were higher in women than in men ( p < 0.001), while the opposite was found for Pb ( p < 0.001) and sex did not influence Ge ( p = 0.095). Alcohol use was associated with higher blood concentrations of Zn ( p = 0.002), Ge ( p = 0.002), and Pb ( p = 0.001). The GM concentration of Zn was highest in 20–30-year-olds ( p < 0.001), while Pb concentrations were highest in 12–16-year-olds ( p < 0.001). Use of hair dye was associated with lower blood concentrations of Ge ( p < 0.05). GM blood concentrations of Pb differed significantly between those who consumed fried foods 1–2 times/month (18.7 μg/L), 1–2 times/week (20.9 μg/L), and every day (28.5 μg/L; p < 0.001). Blood Pb concentrations were higher in subjects who used cosmetics ( p < 0.05), hair dye ( p < 0.05), and who smoked cigarettes ( p < 0.001) than in those who did not.

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          Low-Level Environmental Lead Exposure and Children’s Intellectual Function: An International Pooled Analysis

          Lead is a confirmed neurotoxin, but questions remain about lead-associated intellectual deficits at blood lead levels < 10 μg/dL and whether lower exposures are, for a given change in exposure, associated with greater deficits. The objective of this study was to examine the association of intelligence test scores and blood lead concentration, especially for children who had maximal measured blood lead levels < 10 μg/dL. We examined data collected from 1,333 children who participated in seven international population-based longitudinal cohort studies, followed from birth or infancy until 5–10 years of age. The full-scale IQ score was the primary outcome measure. The geometric mean blood lead concentration of the children peaked at 17.8 μg/dL and declined to 9.4 μg/dL by 5–7 years of age; 244 (18%) children had a maximal blood lead concentration < 10 μg/dL, and 103 (8%) had a maximal blood lead concentration < 7.5 μg/dL. After adjustment for covariates, we found an inverse relationship between blood lead concentration and IQ score. Using a log-linear model, we found a 6.9 IQ point decrement [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.2–9.4] associated with an increase in concurrent blood lead levels from 2.4 to 30 μg/dL. The estimated IQ point decrements associated with an increase in blood lead from 2.4 to 10 μg/dL, 10 to 20 μg/dL, and 20 to 30 μg/dL were 3.9 (95% CI, 2.4–5.3), 1.9 (95% CI, 1.2–2.6), and 1.1 (95% CI, 0.7–1.5), respectively. For a given increase in blood lead, the lead-associated intellectual decrement for children with a maximal blood lead level < 7.5 μg/dL was significantly greater than that observed for those with a maximal blood lead level ≥7.5 μg/dL (p = 0.015). We conclude that environmental lead exposure in children who have maximal blood lead levels < 7.5 μg/dL is associated with intellectual deficits.
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            Zinc requirements and the risks and benefits of zinc supplementation.

            The adult human contains 2-3g of zinc, about 0.1% of which are replenished daily. On this basis and based on estimates of bioavailability of zinc, dietary recommendations are made for apparently healthy individuals. Absent chemical, functional, and/or physical signs of zinc deficiency are assumed indicative of adequacy. More specific data are seldom available. Changing food preferences and availability, and new food preparation, preservation, and processing technologies may require re-evaluation of past data. Conservative estimates suggest that 25% of the world's population is at risk of zinc deficiency. Most of the affected are poor, and rarely consume foods rich in highly bioavailable zinc, while subsisting on foods that are rich in inhibitors of zinc absorption and/or contain relatively small amounts of bioavailable zinc. In contrast, among the relatively affluent, food choice is a major factor affecting risk of zinc deficiency. An additional problem, especially among the relatively affluent, is risk of chronic zinc toxicity caused by excessive consumption of zinc supplements. High intakes of zinc relative to copper can cause copper deficiency. A major challenge that has not been resolved for maximum health benefit is the proximity of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and the reference dose (RfD) for safe intake of zinc. Present recommendations do not consider the numerous dietary factors that influence the bioavailability of zinc and copper, and the likelihood of toxicity from zinc supplements. Thus the current assumed range between safe and unsafe intakes of zinc is relatively narrow. At present, assessment of zinc nutriture is complex, involving a number of chemical and functional measurements that have limitations in sensitivity and specificity. This approach needs to be enhanced so that zinc deficiency or excess can be detected early. An increasing number of associations between diseases and zinc status and apparently normal states of health, where additional zinc might be efficacious to prevent certain conditions, point at the pharmacology of zinc compounds as a promising area. For example, relationships between zinc and diabetes mellitus are an area where research might prove fruitful. In our opinion, a multidisciplinary approach will most likely result in success in this fertile area for translational research.
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              Advances in breeding for high grain Zinc in Rice

              Zinc (Zn) is one of the most essential micronutrients required for the growth and development of human beings. More than one billion people, particularly children and pregnant women suffer from Zn deficiency related health problems in Asia. Rice is the major staple food for Asians, but the presently grown popular high yielding rice varieties are poor supplier of Zn in their polished form. Breeding rice varieties with high grain Zn has been suggested to be a sustainable, targeted, food-based and cost effective approach in alleviating Zn deficiency. The physiological, genetic and molecular mechanisms of Zn homeostasis have been well studied, but these mechanisms need to be characterized from a biofortification perspective and should be well integrated with the breeding processes. There is a significant variation for grain Zn in rice germplasm and efforts are being directed at exploiting this variation through breeding to develop high Zn rice varieties. Several QTLs and gene specific markers have been identified for grain Zn and there is a great potential to use them in Marker-Assisted Breeding. A thorough characterization of genotype and environmental interactions is essential to identify key environmental factors influencing grain Zn. Agronomic biofortification has shown inconsistent results, but a combination of genetic and agronomic biofortification strategies may be more effective. Significant progress has been made in developing high Zn rice lines for release in target countries. A holistic breeding approach involving high Zn trait development, high Zn product development, product testing and release, including bioefficacy and bioavailability studies is essential for successful Zn biofortification. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12284-016-0122-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Academic Editor
                Journal
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                ijerph
                International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
                MDPI
                1661-7827
                1660-4601
                24 February 2017
                March 2017
                : 14
                : 3
                : 227
                Affiliations
                [1 ]School of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Jinan-Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250062, China; tianya584526@ 123456163.com
                [2 ]Shandong Academy Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, 18877 Jingshi Road, Jinan 250062, China; sunshinefeng123@ 123456163.com
                [3 ]Department of Occupational Diseases Control and Prevention, Fengtai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100071, China; cengcengc3@ 123456163.com
                [4 ]Shandong Provincial Western Hospital, Jinan 250022, China; lijinyejn@ 123456163.com
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: chinashaohua5888@ 123456163.com (H.S.); zyhwp@ 123456sina.com (Z.-H.Z.); Tel.: +86-82-595-888 (H.S.)
                Article
                ijerph-14-00227
                10.3390/ijerph14030227
                5369063
                28245579
                04ed234b-ba5a-453a-85e4-5819802beb16
                © 2017 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 11 January 2017
                : 17 February 2017
                Categories
                Article

                Public health
                reference values,blood,metal,trace element
                Public health
                reference values, blood, metal, trace element

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