We previously assessed the exposure of Saudi women to mercury, cadmium and lead based on reference values (RVs) established for other populations experiencing differences in environmental exposure, diet and lifestyle as an indicator of background exposure to pollutants. The present study aimed to (1) calculate RV₉₅ for mercury, cadmium and lead in blood and urine from Saudi women based on the 95th percentile of the metal and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) as defined by the German Human Biomonitoring Commission, and (2) compare with RV₉₅s established in other countries. RV₉₅s were derived using data from two different human biomonitoring studies measured three metals in the blood (2005–2006), and both urine and blood (2011–2013) from healthy non-smokers and non-occupationally exposed women living in Al-Kharj and Riyadh. RV₉₅s for mercury, cadmium and lead in Al-Kharj (Riyadh) blood were 5.9 (1.6) μg/l, 1.4 (1.9) μg/l and 4.3 (4.8) μg/dl, respectively. RV₉₅s for urinary mercury, cadmium and lead in Riyadh samples expressed in μg/l (μg/g creatinine) were 2.5 (1.9), 1.2 (0.96) and 14 (10.8), respectively. Values in both matrices remained high even when potential factors such as secondhand smoking, dental amalgam, and/or fish consumption excluded. RV₉₅s for metals in blood were generally higher than in other countries, except for mercury in Riyadh samples, which was also 4-fold lower than in Al-Kharj. However, due to the time lag between the two studies, and since the Al-Kharj study was conducted 13 years ago, the most recent RV₉₅s derived from the Riyadh study are recommended for Saudi women living in the Central region. The RV₉₅s for urinary mercury and cadmium were comparable to other countries, but lead requires closer attention. To our knowledge, this study is the first to propose RV₉₅s for mercury, cadmium, and lead in blood and urine of Saudi women of childbearing age, a population that is highly susceptible to the adverse health effects of these metals.

之前，我们是根据为其他在环境，饮食和生活方式上存在差异的人口确定的参考值（RVs），评估沙特妇女在汞，镉和铅中的暴露程度，以此作为背景暴露于污染物的指标。本研究旨在（1）根据95％的金属百分比及其相应的95％置信区间（95％CI）来计算沙特女性血液和尿液中的汞，镉和铅的RV ₉₅生物监测委员会，以及（2）与其他国家/地区建立的RV ₉₅进行比较。RV ₉₅s是使用来自两项不同的人类生物监测研究的数据得出的，这些研究测量了生活在Al-Kharj和非职业人群中的健康非吸烟者和非职业接触妇女的血液中的三种金属（2005-2006年）以及尿液和血液（2011-2013年）。利雅得 Al-Kharj（利雅得）血液中汞，镉和铅的RV ₉₅ s分别为5.9（1.6）μg/ l，1.4（1.9）μg/ l和4.3（4.8）μg/ dl。利雅得样品中尿汞，镉和铅的RV ₉₅ s以微克/升（微克/克肌酐）表示分别为2.5（1.9），1.2（0.96）和14（10.8）。即使排除了诸如二手烟，牙齿汞合金和/或鱼类食用等潜在因素，两种基质的值仍然很高。RV ₉₅除利雅得样品中的汞含量比Al-Kharj样品低4倍外，血液中金属的s含量通常高于其他国家。但是，由于两项研究之间存在时间间隔，并且由于Al-Kharj研究是13年前进行的，因此建议居住在中部地区的沙特女性推荐使用源自利雅得研究的最新RV ₉₅。尿汞和镉的RV ₉₅ s与其他国家相当，但是铅需要更密切注意。据我们所知，这项研究是首次提出育龄沙特妇女的血液和尿液中汞，镉和铅中的RV ₉₅ s的研究，该人群对这些金属的不良健康影响非常敏感。