Relationships between trace element concentrations in human blood and serum

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Analytical Chemistry
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Trace element interactions influence absorption, metabolism, and biological effects.
• Shared sources can lead to co-occurrence of elements in biological samples.
• Observed associations between element concentrations may indicate underlying biological or exposure-related phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate correlations between 13 trace elements in human blood and serum.
• To identify potential biological or exposure-related links between elements in adolescents.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 13 trace elements (Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Rh, Pd, Cd, W, Pt, Hg, Tl, Pb) in blood and/or serum.
• Statistical correlation analysis performed on data from 372 Swedish adolescents.

Main Results:

• Numerous correlations were identified among the 13 trace elements.
• Serum selenium (Se) correlated with blood lead (Pb) and blood mercury (Hg).
• Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) showed mutual correlations in both blood and serum.
• Platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh) were closely correlated in blood and serum, likely due to environmental exposure from catalytic converters.

Conclusions:

• The study identified significant correlations between various trace elements in adolescents.
• Some correlations suggest biological interactions or common exposure sources (e.g., Se-Pb-Hg, Cu-Zn, Pt-Pd-Rh).
• Several correlations remain of unknown origin and importance, warranting further investigation.