9 1986 by The tiumana Press Inc. All rights of any nature whatsoever reserved. 0163-4984/86/1001-0001502.00
Blood Lead Level Distribution by Age Group in Japanese YASUSHI KODAMA, 1'* K O J I M A T S U N O , 1 AND N O B U R U ISHINISHI 2
'Department o f Environmental Health, School of Medicine, University o f Occupational Health, Japan. 1-1 lseigaoka, Yahata Nishi-ku, Kitalg,ushu, 807 Japan; and 2Department of Hygiene, Faculty o f Medicine, Kyushu University, 1-1, ~qaidashi 3-chome, Higashiku, Fukuoka, 812, Japan Received November 1, 1985; Accepted November 9, 1985
ABSTRACT Blood lead levels of 634 healthy Japanese (422 males and 212 females), aged 0-87, living in the Kyushu and Okinawa Islands, were determined by the colorimetric dithizone method and atomic absorption spectrometry. The lead level in the atmospheric environment was not extremely high; it was below 1 i~g/m3 in most of the places examined. The differences in the geometric means of blood lead levels between 0-5 yr and other age groups were statistically significant (P .
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Biological Trace Element Research
VoL 10, 1986
Kodama, h4atsuno, and lshinishi TABLE 2 Arithmetic a n d G e o m e t r i c M e a n s of Blood Lead Levels" Male
0-5 10-19 School children (10-15) Others (16-19) Total 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-
Female
Total
n
AM
GM
n
AM
GM
11
AM
GM
57
4.1
3.6
28
3.3
2.9
85
3.8
3.4
30
7.7
7.1
30
7.4
6.8
60
7.6
6.9
19
15.6
12.4
6
17.2
15.0
25
16.0
12.9
49
10.8
9.2
36
9.1
7.7
85
10.1
8.6
85 61 69 52 35 14
13.5 15.2 14.1 13.8 10.3 14.7
11.0 14.1 10.7 10.3 7.1 10.7
31 31 31 33 13 9
13.2 11.3 10.8 10.3 12.0 9.9
11.7 9.9 8.5 8.5 11.4 6.7
116 92 100 85 48 23
13.4 13.9 13.1 12.4 10.7 12.8
11.2 12.5 10.0 9.6 8.1 8.9
~Expressed by t~/dL. Abbreviations and marks; n, number of subjects; AM, arithmetic mean; GM, geometric mean.
,ug/dL
20 nJ 0 0 Q c~
15
A
>r
c.
lt O
0
8
i
,~ 1 0
"\
•
0 O
,x
A
/ / /
(9
0
"~'"" .~.
/
4J
",.,.
x
X
X
"""KX.... ~
a
. . . . . . . O
X
/ 9
5
/
Male
O
O- -
z~
Total Female
/
A
0
I 10
I 20
I 30
I 40
I 50
I 60
I 70
yr
Age
Fig. 3.
M e a n b l o o d lead level by age, i~g/dL.
Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 10, 1986
Blood Lead Levelby Age TABLE 3 The Differences of Blood-Lead Concentration Among Age Groups Age group,
N~ 70-- 60-69
0-5
85
**
**
10-15
60
16-19
25
*
20-29
116
**
30-39
92
**
40--49
100
50-59
85
60-69 70-
48 23
50-59
40-49
30-39
20-29
16-19
10-15
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
0-5
~Number of subjects. *P < 0.05 **P < 0.01
DISCUSSION The geometric m e a n of blood lead concentration in the 0~ yr group was 3.6 ~g/dL for males and 2.9 ~g/dL for females (Table 2). The differences of the geometric m e a n s of blood lead concentrations b e t w e e n the 0-5-yr a n d other age groups were statistically significant (P < 0.01, Table 3). Moreover, in comparison with the geometric m e a n s of blood lead concentration in each group, there were some significant differences a m o n g age groups (Table 3). The blood lead levels of Japanese seem to increase rapidly in late teens and t h e n decrease slowly to a steady state, as s h o w n in Fig. 3. The accumulation of lead from food and air was calculated by using the t h r e e - c o m p a r t m e n t model, modified from that of Rabinowitz et al. (10). Figure 4 shows the model and the assumption of daily intake of lead of Japanese. We a s s u m e d that the a m o u n t of lead from food was parallel to the caloric intake r e c o m m e n d e d for each Japanese age group. The highest caloric intake r e c o m m e n d e d by the Japanese g o v e r n m e n t (11), that is, 2700 kcal for boys in their late teens, which consisted of 150 ~g of lead intake from food (12), and a 10% absorption coefficient were a d o p t e d for our calculations. Then, the a m o u n t of lead absorbed from food in each subject was calculated by using the r e c o m m e n d e d caloric intake of each age group a n d the factor of 15 ~,g Pb/2700 kcal. For lead intake from the air, we a s s u m e d the lead concentration of I i~g/m3 a n d a 50% absorption coefficient. The a s s u m e d volume of air breathed daily is s h o w n in Fig. 4. Figure 5 shows the theoretical accumulation curve. In this figure, lead from food and air accumulates rapidly at an early age and reaches the m a x i m u m level of 740 ~g in the total blood at late teens, Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 10, 1986
Kodarna, Matsuno, and lshinishi
8 Blood
Skeleton
Soft
Diet
Air
1
u
..
)'13
~
2
~12 =
~200 mg ~104
tissue
0.7 m g 3 0 days
9t
1.8 m g 27 days
X31
"~ 21
days
Urine
Other
loss
Fig. 4. Three-compartment model (M. B. Rabinowitz et al. Science 182, 1973). Diet: 150 ~g Pb/2700 kcal for late teens; absorption coefficient, 10% (15 p,g). Air: 1 ~g Pb/m 3, absorption coefficient, 50%; 0-1 yr, 3 mB/d; 2-3 yr, 4m3/d; 4-15 yr, same no. with age m3/d; over 15 yr, 15 m3/d. t h e n decreases slowly to a steady state. This theoretical a c c u m u l a t i o n curve fits the observed values for each age g r o u p very well. For example, the value of 740 p,g in 4.5-5.0 L of h u m a n blood c o r r e s p o n d s to about 15-16 ~g/dL. Thus, the pattern of blood lead levels, by age g r o u p in JapaPb -~ag
7OO
500
-
o ,--4 n
.5
300 o~ D
100
1
L
I
I
I
I
I
I
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
yr,
Age
Fig. 5.
Accumulation curve of lead obtained by simulation.
Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 10, 1986
Blood Lead Level by Age
9
nese was similar to the theoretical accumulation curve obtained by simulation. This fact reveals that blood lead levels of Japanese are attributable mostly to lead in daily food rather than in atmospheric environment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We wish to thank Dr. M. Ikeda, lecturer of the D e p a r t m e n t of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kyusha University, for his help in the computation of simulation and Miss R. Suenaga w h o assisted in the experiment.
REFERENCES 1. K. Tsuchiya, M. Sugita, and H. Sakurai, Arh. Hig. Rada. Toksikol. Suppl. 30, 123 (1979). 2. Y. Kodama, E. Kunitake, K. Nobutomo, M. Urabe, and N. Ishinishi, Jap. J. Hyg. 29, 365 (1973). 3. E. A. Pfitzer, in Effect and Dose-Response Relationships of Toxic Metals, G. F. Nordberg, eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1976, pp. 140-146. 4. N. Zurlo, A. M. Griffini, and E. C. Vigliani, Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 31, 92 (1970). 5. B. Haeger-Aronsen, Br. J. Ind. Med. 28, 52 (1971). 6. P. S. Barry and D. B. Mossmann, Br. J. Ind. Med. 27, 339 (1970). 7. J. De Graeve, P. Jamin, and D. Rondia, Epidemiol. Med. Soc. 23, 131 (1975). 8. S. P. Nygard, J. Ottosen, and J. C. Hansen, Dan. Med. Bull. 24, 49 (1977). 9. F. Francis and D. Rondia, Arch. Environ. Health 35, 110 (1980). 10. M. B. Rabinowitz and G. W. Wetheerill, Science 182, 725 (1973). 11. Sectional Meeting on Nutrition, Recommended Dietary Allowances for Japanese, pp. 8-9, Committee on Public Health, Ministry of Health and Wel-' fare, Tokyo, 1984. 12. S. Horiguchi, K. Teramoto, T. Kurono, and K. Ninomiya, Osaka City Med. J. 24, 131 (1978).
Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 1O, 1986
Blood Lead Level Distribution by Age Group in Japanese YASUSHI KODAMA, 1'* K O J I M A T S U N O , 1 AND N O B U R U ISHINISHI 2
'Department o f Environmental Health, School of Medicine, University o f Occupational Health, Japan. 1-1 lseigaoka, Yahata Nishi-ku, Kitalg,ushu, 807 Japan; and 2Department of Hygiene, Faculty o f Medicine, Kyushu University, 1-1, ~qaidashi 3-chome, Higashiku, Fukuoka, 812, Japan Received November 1, 1985; Accepted November 9, 1985
ABSTRACT Blood lead levels of 634 healthy Japanese (422 males and 212 females), aged 0-87, living in the Kyushu and Okinawa Islands, were determined by the colorimetric dithizone method and atomic absorption spectrometry. The lead level in the atmospheric environment was not extremely high; it was below 1 i~g/m3 in most of the places examined. The differences in the geometric means of blood lead levels between 0-5 yr and other age groups were statistically significant (P .
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Biological Trace Element Research
VoL 10, 1986
Kodama, h4atsuno, and lshinishi TABLE 2 Arithmetic a n d G e o m e t r i c M e a n s of Blood Lead Levels" Male
0-5 10-19 School children (10-15) Others (16-19) Total 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-
Female
Total
n
AM
GM
n
AM
GM
11
AM
GM
57
4.1
3.6
28
3.3
2.9
85
3.8
3.4
30
7.7
7.1
30
7.4
6.8
60
7.6
6.9
19
15.6
12.4
6
17.2
15.0
25
16.0
12.9
49
10.8
9.2
36
9.1
7.7
85
10.1
8.6
85 61 69 52 35 14
13.5 15.2 14.1 13.8 10.3 14.7
11.0 14.1 10.7 10.3 7.1 10.7
31 31 31 33 13 9
13.2 11.3 10.8 10.3 12.0 9.9
11.7 9.9 8.5 8.5 11.4 6.7
116 92 100 85 48 23
13.4 13.9 13.1 12.4 10.7 12.8
11.2 12.5 10.0 9.6 8.1 8.9
~Expressed by t~/dL. Abbreviations and marks; n, number of subjects; AM, arithmetic mean; GM, geometric mean.
,ug/dL
20 nJ 0 0 Q c~
15
A
>r
c.
lt O
0
8
i
,~ 1 0
"\
•
0 O
,x
A
/ / /
(9
0
"~'"" .~.
/
4J
",.,.
x
X
X
"""KX.... ~
a
. . . . . . . O
X
/ 9
5
/
Male
O
O- -
z~
Total Female
/
A
0
I 10
I 20
I 30
I 40
I 50
I 60
I 70
yr
Age
Fig. 3.
M e a n b l o o d lead level by age, i~g/dL.
Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 10, 1986
Blood Lead Levelby Age TABLE 3 The Differences of Blood-Lead Concentration Among Age Groups Age group,
N~ 70-- 60-69
0-5
85
**
**
10-15
60
16-19
25
*
20-29
116
**
30-39
92
**
40--49
100
50-59
85
60-69 70-
48 23
50-59
40-49
30-39
20-29
16-19
10-15
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
0-5
~Number of subjects. *P < 0.05 **P < 0.01
DISCUSSION The geometric m e a n of blood lead concentration in the 0~ yr group was 3.6 ~g/dL for males and 2.9 ~g/dL for females (Table 2). The differences of the geometric m e a n s of blood lead concentrations b e t w e e n the 0-5-yr a n d other age groups were statistically significant (P < 0.01, Table 3). Moreover, in comparison with the geometric m e a n s of blood lead concentration in each group, there were some significant differences a m o n g age groups (Table 3). The blood lead levels of Japanese seem to increase rapidly in late teens and t h e n decrease slowly to a steady state, as s h o w n in Fig. 3. The accumulation of lead from food and air was calculated by using the t h r e e - c o m p a r t m e n t model, modified from that of Rabinowitz et al. (10). Figure 4 shows the model and the assumption of daily intake of lead of Japanese. We a s s u m e d that the a m o u n t of lead from food was parallel to the caloric intake r e c o m m e n d e d for each Japanese age group. The highest caloric intake r e c o m m e n d e d by the Japanese g o v e r n m e n t (11), that is, 2700 kcal for boys in their late teens, which consisted of 150 ~g of lead intake from food (12), and a 10% absorption coefficient were a d o p t e d for our calculations. Then, the a m o u n t of lead absorbed from food in each subject was calculated by using the r e c o m m e n d e d caloric intake of each age group a n d the factor of 15 ~,g Pb/2700 kcal. For lead intake from the air, we a s s u m e d the lead concentration of I i~g/m3 a n d a 50% absorption coefficient. The a s s u m e d volume of air breathed daily is s h o w n in Fig. 4. Figure 5 shows the theoretical accumulation curve. In this figure, lead from food and air accumulates rapidly at an early age and reaches the m a x i m u m level of 740 ~g in the total blood at late teens, Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 10, 1986
Kodarna, Matsuno, and lshinishi
8 Blood
Skeleton
Soft
Diet
Air
1
u
..
)'13
~
2
~12 =
~200 mg ~104
tissue
0.7 m g 3 0 days
9t
1.8 m g 27 days
X31
"~ 21
days
Urine
Other
loss
Fig. 4. Three-compartment model (M. B. Rabinowitz et al. Science 182, 1973). Diet: 150 ~g Pb/2700 kcal for late teens; absorption coefficient, 10% (15 p,g). Air: 1 ~g Pb/m 3, absorption coefficient, 50%; 0-1 yr, 3 mB/d; 2-3 yr, 4m3/d; 4-15 yr, same no. with age m3/d; over 15 yr, 15 m3/d. t h e n decreases slowly to a steady state. This theoretical a c c u m u l a t i o n curve fits the observed values for each age g r o u p very well. For example, the value of 740 p,g in 4.5-5.0 L of h u m a n blood c o r r e s p o n d s to about 15-16 ~g/dL. Thus, the pattern of blood lead levels, by age g r o u p in JapaPb -~ag
7OO
500
-
o ,--4 n
.5
300 o~ D
100
1
L
I
I
I
I
I
I
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
yr,
Age
Fig. 5.
Accumulation curve of lead obtained by simulation.
Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 10, 1986
Blood Lead Level by Age
9
nese was similar to the theoretical accumulation curve obtained by simulation. This fact reveals that blood lead levels of Japanese are attributable mostly to lead in daily food rather than in atmospheric environment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We wish to thank Dr. M. Ikeda, lecturer of the D e p a r t m e n t of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kyusha University, for his help in the computation of simulation and Miss R. Suenaga w h o assisted in the experiment.
REFERENCES 1. K. Tsuchiya, M. Sugita, and H. Sakurai, Arh. Hig. Rada. Toksikol. Suppl. 30, 123 (1979). 2. Y. Kodama, E. Kunitake, K. Nobutomo, M. Urabe, and N. Ishinishi, Jap. J. Hyg. 29, 365 (1973). 3. E. A. Pfitzer, in Effect and Dose-Response Relationships of Toxic Metals, G. F. Nordberg, eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1976, pp. 140-146. 4. N. Zurlo, A. M. Griffini, and E. C. Vigliani, Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 31, 92 (1970). 5. B. Haeger-Aronsen, Br. J. Ind. Med. 28, 52 (1971). 6. P. S. Barry and D. B. Mossmann, Br. J. Ind. Med. 27, 339 (1970). 7. J. De Graeve, P. Jamin, and D. Rondia, Epidemiol. Med. Soc. 23, 131 (1975). 8. S. P. Nygard, J. Ottosen, and J. C. Hansen, Dan. Med. Bull. 24, 49 (1977). 9. F. Francis and D. Rondia, Arch. Environ. Health 35, 110 (1980). 10. M. B. Rabinowitz and G. W. Wetheerill, Science 182, 725 (1973). 11. Sectional Meeting on Nutrition, Recommended Dietary Allowances for Japanese, pp. 8-9, Committee on Public Health, Ministry of Health and Wel-' fare, Tokyo, 1984. 12. S. Horiguchi, K. Teramoto, T. Kurono, and K. Ninomiya, Osaka City Med. J. 24, 131 (1978).
Biological Trace Element Research
Vol. 1O, 1986
