title: Hair-element analysis--still on the fringe.
abstract: Increasing biological interest in minerals has led to the search for reliable methods to quantify body levels of trace elements and toxic metals. Hair has been a prime candidate because of its ease of collection and the possibility that this body tissue might accurately reflect body loads of these substances. A vast amount of research effort has been expended to explore the value of hair-element analysis. Unfortunately, there are so many confounding factors that influence these measurements that isolated individual results cannot be relied upon. Their current value is in epidemiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Community Paediatric Unit, Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morley
authors.forename: R P K
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ford
mesh_terms: D001822:Body Burden; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements