[Aluminium in the lower respiratory tract of people living in México City].
OBJECTIVE
Investigating the presence of aluminium (Al) and respiratory pathologies in the lower respiratory tract of people who had lived in Mexico City for a minimum of two years.


METHODS
250 respiratory tissue samples were obtained from pulmonary lobes, lymph nodes, bronchial and hilum regions during 36 individuals' autopsies. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for quantifying Al; the samples has been previously dried, ground and digested.


RESULTS
13 different pathologies were identified but only three of them (pulmonary emphysema, bronchitis and anthracosis) were correlated with the presence of Al, an element being distributed in very variable concentrations (range: 2.7 to 836.1 micrograms of Al per gram of dry tissue (ì g Al/g ts)). The amount of Al found in lobes, bronchial and hilum regions was much smaller than that found in lymph nodes; such difference was statistically significant. Multivariate analysis by conglomerates revealed that the sample consisted of three classes of individuals, grouped according to the amount and distribution of Al in the lower respiratory tract, age, time spent living in Mexico City and the presence of pathologies.


CONCLUSIONS
The Al found in the lower respiratory tract of residents of Mexico City would thus seem to have come from the air. The amount of Al and its distribution pattern depended on the time and place of residence and can lead to respiratory illness.
Manquián-Tejos
Adelaida R I
AR
Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico. amanquiante@yahoo.es
Tovar-Gálvez
Luis R
LR
Yáñez-Canal
Gabriel
G
D000535:Aluminum / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008800:Mexico; D014504:Urban Health
D000535:Aluminum