Abstract:
Heavy metal contamination in humans is a serious environmental challenge that impacts the lives of people globally. High concentrations of heavy metals in food, water, and the environment have posed serious health concerns for people. Therefore, this work intended to determine the concentration of zinc, iron, lead, and cadmium in urine samples of healthy (smokers and nonsmokers) and unhealthy (kidney disease and diabetes) adult patients from NUST and Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan (age 25–50). A total of 40 samples were collected: 20 from healthy (smokers and nonsmokers) and 20 from unhealthy (kidney and type 2 diabetes) subjects. The samples were concentrated, lyophilized, and digested using the hot plate method with concentrated nitric and perchloric acids. The samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) in flame mode. The results revealed mean concentrations of Pb (0.08 mg/L) in healthy subjects (smokers: 0.12 mg/L, and nonsmokers: 0.02 mg/L) were higher than in unhealthy patients (0.07 mg/L); kidney disease: 0.07 mg/L; and diabetes: 0.05mg/L. The concentrations of Fe (7.14 mg/L) and Zn (0.69 mg/L) in unhealthy patients were higher than those in healthy individuals (Fe: 0.31 mg/L; Zn: 0.38 mg/L). The mean concentrations of Fe (0.35 mg/L), Cd (0.02 mg/L), and Zn (0.39 mg/L) in smokers were higher than in nonsmokers (Fe: 0.27 mg/L; Zn: 0.36 mg/L; Cd: 0.01 mg/L). The urinary concentrations of Pb (0.07 mg/L), Zn (1.08 mg/L), Cd (0.02 mg/L), and Fe (14.2 mg/L) in subjects with kidney disease were higher than those in diabetes patients (Pb: 0.05, Zn: 0.29, Cd: 0.01 mg/L, and Fe: 0.62 mg/L). All the concentrations were significantly higher than the ATSDR and WHO permissible limits for heavy metals in urine. The results of the study concluded that higher concentrations of heavy metals in the samples could be one of the contributing factors responsible for kidney and diabetes diseases in unhealthy patients, although the statistical results showed a nonsignificant relationship between urinary Zn, Fe, and Cd concentrations in nonsmokers and diabetes, nonsmokers and smokers, and smokers and diabetes categories with p-values (> 0.05) in all categories of subjects for lead (Pb).
Page(s):
254-254
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on International Conference on Food and Applied Sciences (ICFAS-23) 3-5 August 23, Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023
Keywords:
Heavy metals
,
health
,
urine
,
Unhealthy
,
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer