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Blood and faecal lead levels in children with various functional gastrointestinal disorders
Nergiz Sevinc1, Namık Bilici2, Eylem Sevinc3
1Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Karabük Üniversitesi, Karabük, Turkey.
Insights
Children with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) show elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) and fecal lead levels (FLLs) compared to healthy controls. Over half of FGID patients exhibit toxic BLLs, suggesting routine lead level assessment may be warranted.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
Background:
- Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are common in children.
- Lead exposure is a significant public health concern, particularly for children.
- The relationship between FGIDs and lead exposure requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare blood lead levels (BLLs) and fecal lead levels (FLLs) in children with FGIDs versus healthy controls.
- To analyze lead levels across different FGID subgroups: functional constipation (FC), functional abdominal pain (FAP), and functional nausea (FN).
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 102 children with FGIDs (Rome IV criteria) and 102 healthy controls, aged 4-18 years.
- FGID patients were categorized into FC, FAP, and FN subgroups.
- Lead levels in blood and feces were quantified using atomic absorption spectrometry.
Main Results:
- Children with FGIDs had significantly higher median BLLs (5.12 µg/dL) and FLLs (28.08 µg/g) compared to controls (1.77 µg/dL and 0.01 µg/g, respectively).
- Over 51% of children with FGIDs had BLLs ≥5 µg/dL.
- BLLs differed significantly between the FC subgroup and both FAP and FN subgroups, while FLLs showed no significant inter-subgroup differences.
Conclusions:
- Children with FGIDs exhibit elevated BLLs and FLLs, with a substantial proportion exceeding toxic lead level thresholds.
- The findings suggest a potential link between FGIDs and lead exposure.
- Routine BLL screening in children diagnosed with FGIDs may be considered by clinicians.
Introduction:
To investigate the blood lead levels (BLLs) and faecal lead levels (FLLs) in children with various functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) and compare them with controls.
Patients And Methods:
One hundred and two children with FGIDs defined by the Rome IV criteria, aged 4-18 years, and one hundred and two sex matched healthy children were enrolled in the study. Children with FGIDs were divided into three subgroups as functional constipation (FC) (n = 36), functional abdominal pain (FAP) (n = 36) and functional nausea (FN) (n = 30). The lead levels were measured using atomic absorption spectrometer.
Results:
The median BLLs in the FGIDs group was significantly higher than in controls (5.12 and 1.77 µg/dL, respectively). The BLLs were above 5 µg/dL in 51,9% of children with FGIDs. There was statistically significant difference in BLLs between FC subgroup and the other subgroups (FAP and FN) (p = 0.003, p < 0.001 respectively). The FLLs in the FGIDs group was significantly higher than in controls (28.08 and 0.01 µg/g, respectively). There was no significant difference in FLLs between FC subgroup and the other subgroups (p = 0.992, p = 0.989 respectively). No significant relation found between BLLs and FLLs of the FGIDs group (p = 0.123).
Conclusion:
This study revealed that children with FGIDs had higher BLLs and FLLs than controls and also more than half of children with FGIDs had BLLs ≥5 µg/dL which is considered as toxic level. These results might revive the question of whether or not clinicians need to evaluate routine BLLs in children with FGIDs.
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