title: Iron depletion and blood lead levels in a population with endemic lead poisoning.
abstract: The effect of iron depletion on blood lead levels was studied in a group of 558 schoolchildren aged 10 to 18 residing in two West Bank Arab villages with a high prevalence of excessive lead exposure and clinical lead poisoning. Thirty percent of the subjects studied had whole-blood lead levels greater than 30 micrograms/dl, and 45% had whole-blood zinc erythrocyte protoporphyrin greater than 50 micrograms/dl. The percentage of abnormal blood lead values in subjects with normal serum ferritin and transferrin saturation (31%) was similar to that in subjects with one (28%) or two (25%) abnormal iron parameters. Likewise, there was no correlation between serum ferritin and blood lead levels in individual patients (r = 0.059). Normal distribution plots and mean levels of blood lead (27.3 micrograms/dl) were identical in the iron-deficient and iron-replete groups. These findings indicate that iron depletion does not affect blood lead levels and suggest that in man, unlike in experimental animals, iron depletion may not have a significant effect on lead absorption.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002648:Child; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D007557:Israel / Q000208:ethnology; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011524:Protoporphyrins / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D011524:Protoporphyrins; C017803:zinc protoporphyrin; D007854:Lead; D005293:Ferritins