ABSTRACT

Objectives: To measure heavy metal concentrations among Kenyan youth and quantify associations with sociocultural, demographic, and health factors as well as anthropometry.

Methods: Using data from a study of semi-nomadic pastoralists in Samburu County, Kenya, we measured blood concentrations of lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) in 161 adolescents. We identified sociocultural, demographic and health characteristics associated with each metal and quantified the association between metals and adolescent anthropometry.

Results: Median blood concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Hg were 1.82 µg/dL, 0.24 µg/L and 0.16 µg/L, respectively. Place of residence (highlands vs lowlands) was a determinant of metal concentrations. Hg was inversely related to anemia, and metals were not associated with anthropometry.

Conclusions: In this population of Samburu adolescents, median Pb and Cd blood concentrations were higher than other North American or European biomonitoring studies. These findings motivate further investigation into the environmental sources of metals in this community.

 抽象的

目标：测量肯尼亚青少年的重金属浓度，并量化与社会文化、人口和健康因素以及人体测量学的关联。

方法：利用对肯尼亚桑布鲁县半游牧牧民的研究数据，我们测量了 161 名青少年的血液中铅 (Pb)、汞 (Hg) 和镉 (Cd) 浓度。我们确定了与每种金属相关的社会文化、人口和健康特征，并量化了金属与青少年人体测量之间的关联。

结果：Pb、Cd 和 Hg 的中位血液浓度分别为 1.82 µg/dL、0.24 µg/L 和 0.16 µg/L。居住地（高地与低地）是金属浓度的决定因素。汞与贫血呈负相关，金属与人体测量学无关。

结论：在桑布鲁青少年群体中，血液中铅和镉浓度中位数高于其他北美或欧洲生物监测研究。这些发现激发了对该社区金属环境来源的进一步调查。