2023-06-27 ペンシルベニア州立大学(PennState)
Penn State-led research has shown exposure to tobacco smoke may increase the presence of heavy metals in children’s saliva. Credit: MadamKaye/shutterstock.com. All Rights Reserved.
◆ペンシルベニア州立大学の研究によれば、タバコの煙にさらされることで子供の唾液中の重金属の量が増加することが初めて明らかにされました。これは、健康問題や行動問題の原因となる可能性があります。唾液検査は将来的には環境および職業的な金属暴露の評価に役立つかもしれません。しかし、現時点では唾液中の金属の適切な基準はまだ存在しません。
<関連情報>
- https://www.psu.edu/news/social-science-research-institute/story/tobacco-smoke-exposure-may-increase-heavy-metal-levels/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-023-00554-w
環境タバコ煙曝露は子供の唾液中の金属レベル上昇と関連する Environmental tobacco smoke exposure is associated with increased levels of metals in children’s saliva
Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp,Jenna L. Riis,Hedyeh Ahmadi,Hillary L. Piccerillo,Douglas A. Granger,Clancy B. Blair & Elizabeth A. Thomas
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology Published:05 May 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-023-00554-w
Abstract
Background
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has been associated with detectable levels of cotinine (a nicotine metabolite) in children’s saliva. However, tobacco smoke also contains toxic and essential trace metals, including chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn).
Objective
The current study examines whether there is a relationship between ETS exposure, as gauged by salivary cotinine, and salivary levels of these metals in a subset (n = 238) of children from the Family Life Project.
Methods
Using inductively-coupled-plasma optical emission spectrophotometry, we measured levels of metals in saliva from children at ~90 months of age. Salivary cotinine was measured using a commercial immunoassay.
Results
We found that Cr, Cu, Mn, and Zn were detected in most samples (85–99%) with lower levels of detection for Pb and Ni (9.3% and 13.9% respectively). There were no significant differences in any of the metal concentrations between males and females, nor were levels associated with body mass index, although significant differences in salivary Cr and Mn by race, state and income-to-needs ratio were observed. Children with cotinine levels >1 ng/ml had higher levels of Zn (b = 0.401, 95% CI: 0.183 to 0.619; p = 0.0003) and Cu (b = 0.655, 95% CI: 0.206 to 1.104; p = 0.004) compared to children with levels <1 ng/ml, after controlling for multiple confounders, including sex, race, BMI and income-to-needs ratio. Further, we show that children whose cotinine levels were >1 μg/L were more likely to have detectable levels of Pb in their saliva (b = 1.40, 95% CI: 0.424 to 2.459; p = 0.006) compared to children with cotinine levels <1 ng/ml, also considering confounders.
Impact statement
This is the first study to demonstrate significant associations between salivary cotinine and salivary levels of Cu, Zn and Pb, suggesting that environmental tobacco smoke exposure my be one source of increased children’s exposure to heavy metals. This study also demonstrates that saliva samples can be used to measure heavy metal exposure, and thus serve as a non-invasive tool for assessing a broader range of risk indicators.
