title: Trace elements in hair of healthy children sampled by age and sex.
abstract: Hair trace element (TE) (Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Br, Rb, Sr, Pb) levels from 336 healthy subjects were measured by the Proton-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) method. The subjects were divided in three groups: 157 full-term neonates (75 male and 82 female), 86 children (41 male and 45 female) ages 6 to 11 yr, and 93 adolescents (51 male and 42 female) 11 to 16 yr old. Cu, Zn, Cr, and Br show an increase from birth to 8 yr and then decrease. Fe, Mn, and Sr strongly decrease up to 8 yr and then remain almost stable. Sex differences are present in Fe, Zn, and Br of children and in Cu, Cr, and Br of adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Pediatria, Seconda Universitá di Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perrone
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caroli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Toro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gialanella
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements