title: Blood lead level in opium dependents and its association with anemia: A cross-sectional study from the capital of Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Opium dependence is one of the most challenging health problems in the developing countries as well as Iran. Among several health problems due to opium dependence, there are limited reports indicating the presence of lead in opium. The aim of this study is to investigate the blood lead level (BLL) in oral and inhalational opium dependents and its association with anemia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was done among 86 opium dependent patients who were referred to five large detoxification centers in Tehran city and 48 healthy individuals. BLL was assessed using the atomic absorption spectrometry technique. Multivariate analysis of variance and binary logistic regression analysis were performed for statistical assessment using SPSS version 18 for Windows.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest BLL was detected in oral opium dependent group (mean = 11.75, standard deviation (SD) = 6.06) in comparison to inhalational opium dependent group (mean = 7.07, SD = 3.61) and healthy control group (mean = 6.05, SD = 1.83). Anemia was detected in 38% of oral-opium dependent and 43% of inhalational-opium dependent group. Age (odds ratio (OR): 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.09) and opium dependence (OR: 3.59, 95% CI: 1.69-7.59) were significant predictors of anemia in these patients (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study confirmed the higher BLL in opium dependents, especially with an oral form of consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Behrooz Hashemi
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Domeneh
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tavakoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Najmeh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jafari
keywords: Anemia; Iran; blood lead level; opium dependent