Wine--an important source of lead exposure.
Blood lead levels in 32 male chronic alcoholic patients were measured and related to drinking habits. An external reference group and a group with previous high alcohol consumption served as controls. Blood lead concentrations were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in the group with current high alcohol consumption (mean +/- S.D.) (90 +/- 48 micrograms/l, n = 17) than in the external reference group (57 +/- 27 micrograms Pb/l, n = 35). The blood lead concentrations in the latter group were similar to those in the group with previous high alcohol consumption (55 +/- 20 micrograms Pb/l, n = 15). Patients with excessive consumption of wine only (average intake 2.61 wine/day, range 1.3-4.5 l/day) had particularly elevated blood lead concentrations (149 +/- 31 micrograms Pb/l, n = 5), whereas blood lead levels were close to the control value in patients with excessive consumption of spirits only (68 +/- 28 micrograms Pb/l, n = 7). Furthermore, within the external reference group blood lead levels were higher in those who regularly drank more than 0.51 of wine on several occasions each week (96 +/- 22 micrograms Pb/l, n = 6) than in those who consumed less wine (48 +/- 20 micrograms Pb/l, n = 29). In a recent study of table wines sold in Sweden the average lead concentration in 84 samples was found to be 73 micrograms/l.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Elinder
C G
CG
Department of Renal Medicine, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
Lind
B
B
Nilsson
B
B
Oskarsson
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D013548:Sweden; D014920:Wine
D007854:Lead