台灣2019年人體生物監測尿中金屬濃度分析和流行病學研究

Abstract

研究背景 本研究旨在確定台灣一般人口尿液中金屬的濃度分佈情況。使用人體生物監測來評估來自不同來源和通過不同途徑暴露於化學物質的內部累積暴露量。通過與美國國家健康和營養調查(NHANES)的比較，確定台灣人體生物監測中濃度較高的金屬。 研究方法 本研究於2019年全國範圍內收集了1748名7歲及以上的受試者，收集尿液樣本並進行問卷訪問。研究設計採用分層多階段群集抽樣設計的橫斷面研究。通過電感耦合等離子體譜儀(ICP-MS)分析了20種環境的金屬濃度，包括砷(As)、鋇(Ba)、鎘(Cd)、鈷(Co)、鉻(Cr)、銫(Cs)、銅(Cu)、鐵(Fe)、鎵(Ga)、銦(In)、錳(Mn)、鎳(Ni)、鉛(Pb)、硒(Se)、錫(Sn)、鍶(Sr)、鈦(Ti)、鉈(Tl)、釩(V)以及鋅(Zn)。 研究結果 尿液中金屬濃度分佈呈現20種金屬的幾何平均濃度和25%、50%、75%及95%的濃度值。發現男性的鋅濃度(358.3 µg/g肌酐)高於女性(357.0 µg/g肌酐)，而其他金屬的濃度則女性顯著高於男性(p < 0.05)。每個年齡組(07-12歲、13-18歲、19-39歲、40-64歲和65歲以上)的金屬濃度分佈呈現U型趨勢，並且每個年齡組的濃度均存在顯著差異(p < 0.05)。比較不同地區我們觀察到金屬濃度存在顯著差異。相比非吸菸者，我們發現吸菸者尿液中的鎘和鋅濃度顯著較高(鎘：0.60 µg/g 肌酐，p =0.01；鋅：376.15 µg/g 肌酐，p =0.04)。喝咖啡者的尿液中鎘濃度顯著高於不喝咖啡者(鎘：0.51 vs. 0.45 µg/g 肌酐，p <0.01)。 結論 本研究確定了台灣一般人口尿液中金屬的濃度分佈情況。研究結果顯示基於性別、年齡、地區和生活習慣，2019年台灣一般人口的尿液中金屬濃度存在差異。與NHANES結果相比，台灣人尿中的砷、鋇、鎘、鉻、錳、鎳、鉈和鉛等金屬的基準值濃度較高。

Background Human beings are often exposed to metals and metalloid elements in our daily life. Human biomonitoring can be used to determine internal aggregate exposures to chemicals from all different sources and through all exposure routes. The aim of this study was to establish the concentration distributions of metals in urine among the general population in Taiwan. Compared with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), find out the metals with higher concentration in Taiwan human biomonitoring. Methods The research population was collected nationwide in 2019, recruiting a total of 1748 subjects aged 7 and over, collecting urine samples and conducting questionnaire interviews. The study design was a cross-sectional study with a stratified multistage cluster sampling design. The concentrations of 20 environmental metals, including arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), cesium (Cs), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), gallium (Ga), indium (In), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), selenium (Se), tin (Sn), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), thallium (Tl), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn), were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results The distribution of metal concentrations in urine showed the geometric mean concentrations and the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentile values for 20 metals. Zinc concentration in males (358.3 µg/g creatinine) was higher than in females (357.0 µg/g creatinine), while the concentrations of other metals were significantly higher in females than in males (p < 0.05). The concentration distribution of metals in each age group (07-12 years, 13-18 years, 19-39 years, 40-64 years, and 65 years and above) exhibited a U-shaped trend, and significant differences were found among the concentrations in each age group (p < 0.05). We observed significant differences in metal concentrations across different regions. Compared to non-smokers, smoking participants had significantly higher concentrations of cadmium and zinc in urine (Cd: 0.60 µg/g creatinine, p = 0.01; Zn: 376.15 µg/g creatinine, p = 0.04). Individuals who consumed coffee had significantly higher cadmium concentrations in urine compared to non-coffee drinkers (Cd: 0.51 vs. 0.45 µg/g creatinine, p < 0.01). Conclusions This study determined the distribution of metal concentrations in urine among the general population of Taiwan. The results of the study showed variations in urinary metal concentrations based on gender, age, region, and lifestyle habits among the general population in Taiwan in 2019. Compared to the results from NHANES, the reference values of metals such as arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, manganese, nickel, thallium, and lead in Taiwanese urine are relatively high.