Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2025
Setup of Capillary Electrophoresis-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry CE-ICP-MS for Quantification of Iron Redox Species FeII, FeIII
Published on: May 4, 2020
Gender Difference in the Associations among Heavy Metals with Red Blood Cell Hemogram
Chao-Hsin Huang1, Chih-Wen Wang2,3, Huang-Chi Chen2,4
1Department of Post Baccalaureate Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the association between heavy metals and hemograms including hemoglobin (Hgb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). A health survey of 2447 participants was conducted in southern Taiwan between June 2016 and September 2018. Seven heavy metals were measured: blood lead (Pb), urine nickel (Ni), urine chromium (Cr), urine manganese, urine arsenic (As), urine copper and urine cadmium (Cd). The results show that in females, Pb and Ni were significantly negatively associated with Hgb. In addition, As and Cd were significantly positively, and Pb and Ni were significantly negatively, associated with MCV, in males and females, respectively. The interactions between gender and Ni and gender and Cd in MCV were statistically significant. Further, Pb, in males, and Pb, Ni and Cr, in females, were significantly negatively associated with MCHC. In conclusion, in females, associations of red blood cell (RBC) hemograms with heavy metals such as Pb and Ni were found. In males, heavy metals such as Pb, As and Cd were found to associate with RBC hemograms. Further research is warranted to discuss the mechanism behind these associations.
Related Concept Videos
00:57The Periodic Table and Organismal Elements
01:27Disorders of Erythrocytes
Erythrocyte disorders can be broadly categorized into two main types: anemic and polycythemic conditions.
A low oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood due to the loss, lower production, or destruction of erythrocytes is termed anemia. Hemorrhagic anemia, for example, occurs when bleeding from an external wound or internal ulcer reduces erythrocyte counts.
On the other...
01:24Hemoglobin
When all four heme groups are bound to oxygen, the resulting molecule is called oxyhemoglobin. As a result, arterial blood...
03:02Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
00:56Extraction: Advanced Methods
01:27Oxygen Transport in the Blood