Lead, Cadmium, Copper and Zinc Concentrations in Blood and Hair of Mothers of Children with Locomotor System Malformations
January 2003
in “
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies
”
Studysummary This study found that women who delivered children with locomotor system malformations had significantly higher lead concentrations in their blood and hair compared to those who had healthy children. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The study compared cadmium, copper, and zinc concentrations in the blood and hair of 51 women who delivered children with locomotor system malformations and 46 women who gave birth to healthy children, finding no statistically significant differences. However, lead concentrations were notably higher in the blood and hair of women with affected children (109.63 μg/L and 1.31 μg/g) compared to the control group (66.45 μg/L and 0.58 μg/g). After 12 months, lead levels in 17 women from the affected group decreased to 60.73 μg/L in blood and 1.20 μg/g in hair. A significant correlation was observed between lead and copper levels in the mothers' hair.