In this study, the hair and fingernails of the local people in an intensively cultivated agricultural area in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, were used as biomarkers of exposure to arsenic (As) and heavy metals. The study area has shallow acidic groundwater that is contaminated with As and heavy metals. The local people often consume this shallow groundwater; thus, they are exposed to As and heavy metals. Hair and fingernail samples were collected to characterize the differences between shallow groundwater drinking (SGWD) and tap water drinking (TWD) residents. The concentrations of As and the heavy metals Cd, Pb and Hg were significantly higher in the hair samples from the SGWD group than those from the TWD group, especially for As (0.020–0.571 vs. 0.024–0.359 µg/g) and Cd (0.009–0.575 vs. 0.013–0.230 µg/g). Similarly, the concentrations of As and the heavy metals in the fingernail samples collected from the SGWD group were larger than those of the TWD group, especially for As (0.039–2.440 µg/g vs. 0.049–0.806 µg/g). The χ² statistic and binary logistic regression were used to find the associated factors and assess the associated probabilities. The regression results show that the factors associated with the concentrations of As and the heavy metals in the hair samples were drinking water source, rate of water consumption, gender, bathing water source, education, smoking and underlying disease, whereas the factors associated with the concentrations of these species in the fingernail samples were drinking water source, gender, occupation, work hours per day, alcohol consumption, and the use of pesticides.

在这项研究中，泰国乌汶叻差他尼省一个集约耕作的农业地区中当地人的头发和指甲被用作暴露于砷和重金属的生物标志物。研究区域有浅酸性地下水，被砷和重金属污染。当地人经常消耗这种浅层地下水。因此，它们暴露于砷和重金属。收集头发和指甲样本以表征浅层饮用水（SGWD）与自来水（TWD）居民之间的差异。SGWD组的头发样品中的As和重金属Cd，Pb和Hg的浓度显着高于TWD组的头发，尤其是As（0.020-0.571 vs. 0.024-0.359 µg / g）和Cd（ 0.009-0.575与0.013-0.230 µg / g）。相似地，从SGWD组采集的指甲样品中的As和重金属的浓度要高于TWD组，尤其是As（0.039–2.440 µg / g vs. 0.049–0.806 µg / g）。χ^使用2个统计量和二元logistic回归来找到相关因素并评估相关概率。回归结果表明，头发样品中砷和重金属的含量与饮用水源，耗水率，性别，沐浴水源，教育程度，吸烟和潜在疾病有关。指甲样品中这些物种的浓度包括饮用水来源，性别，职业，每天的工作时间，酒精消耗和杀虫剂的使用。