title: Low-Level Toxic Metal Exposure in Healthy Weaning-Age Infants: Association with Growth, Dietary Intake, and Iron Deficiency.
abstract: Even low levels of toxic metal exposure (As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) in infancy might be harmful to children's development. This study investigated toxic metal exposure on healthy weaning-age infants and its relationship with growth, diet, and iron/anemia status. The weight, height, head circumference, whole blood levels of four toxic metals, hemoglobin, and serum ferritin of healthy infants was measured. Among 210 infants with a median age of 11.4 months (interquartile range: 10.5-12.0), the median levels of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were 1.2 μg/L, 0.05 μg/L, 0.8 μg/L, and 0.83 μg/dL, respectively. In adjusted linear regression models, post-birth weight gain (Pb) and current head circumference (As, Pb) were negatively associated with toxic metal levels. In multiple linear regression or logistic regression analysis, the duration of breastfeeding (all four metals), perceived adequacy of rice-based food intake (As), regular fish intake (As, Hg), and iron deficiency with/without anemia (Cd, Pb) were associated with increased toxic metal levels. Although levels of toxic metals may not usually be high in this population, individual exposure risk may need to be assessed after considering the type of feeding or intake of complementary foods and the iron/anemia status while evaluating growth status during late infancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea. gonasa82@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jungil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea. jychang7@snu.ac.kr.|Department of Pediatrics, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea. jychang7@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Ju Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon 24289, Korea. dochong@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Jeana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea. jeannie@snu.ac.kr.|Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea. jeannie@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea. mdjs0721@naver.com.
authors.forename: Jeong Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea. oh.sohee@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sohee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002104:Cadmium / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006262:Health; D000075322:Heavy Metal Poisoning; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D007854:Lead / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000097:blood; D009035:Mothers; D011041:Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D007501:Iron; D008628:Mercury; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: arsenic; breast-feeding; cadmium; diet; growth; head circumference; infant; iron deficiency; lead; mercury