[Analysis of human hair lead and zinc during various physiological periods]

Hair specimens were collected from 1,477 healthy persons at various physiological periods in different areas of Henan Province and determined for their lead and zinc contents, to study systematically the trend of their changes, correlationship between them and their intrinsic connection. Results showed hair lead level was higher in persons, except neonates and the elderly, living in urban area than in rural one. Hair lead level correlated inversely with hair zinc level in logarithmic scale during various physiological periods, with a coefficient of correlation of 0.971. It suggested there possibly is antagonism between lead and zinc in human bodies. Theoretical explanation of the above results and the possibility to use zinc to prevent and treat the hazard caused by lead were provided.