Hygienic Assessment of the Relationship between the Levels of Endocrine- Disrupting Metals in Drinking Water and Biological Materials and the Prevalence of Endocrine Diseases in the Population

Background: In addition to carcinogenic and toxic properties, some metals can act as endocrine disruptors in small doses, when taken both separately and in combination.

Objective: To conduct a hygienic assessment of the relationship between the levels of endocrine-disrupting metals in drinking water and human hair and the incidence and prevalence of endocrine diseases.

Materials and methods: We did a cluster analysis of 41 municipalities of the Orenburg Region with the allocation of observation and reference areas based on disease rates and measured levels of disrupting metals. The contents of ten endocrine-disrupting metals (aluminum, iron, manganese, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, nickel, mercury, cadmium) in drinking water and eight trace elements in hair samples were assessed. We examined 41 and 46 people living in the observation and reference areas, respectively.

Results: In the observation area, the prevalence in the adult population was 1.4 times higher, the incidence was 1.7 times higher, and the pollution coefficients due to disrupting metals were 1.5-2 times higher than in the reference area. The priority endocrine-disrupting metals were lead, iron, cadmium, nickel, and aluminum. Hair levels of iron, manganese, lead, chromium, and cadmium in those living in the observation area exceeded the reference ones. Incidence rates of diseases of the endocrine system demonstrated a weak statistically significant correlation with the contents of cadmium, lead, iron, and aluminum. Hair levels of iron, copper, lead, cadmium, and chromium in the examined subjects correlated with the prevalence in children and adults.

Conclusion: The subjects living in the areas with a high incidence of endocrine diseases had higher hair levels of iron, copper, lead, chromium, and nickel compared to those living in the reference area. The positive correlations found in the “health status environmental factor marker of exposure” system require further research to identify patterns and cause-and-effect relationships.

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