Identification of some heavy metals in hair of children with seasonal rhinitis

Abstract

Introducion: Heavy metals are present in small quantities in the environment and food, but when consumed in large quantities can lead to acute and chronic poisoning. Heavy metal poisoning not only damages the central nervous system, lungs, kidneys, liver and digestive system, but also adversely affects the skin and bone structure, disrupting the functioning of the immune system and increasing the incidence of autoimmune, infectious and cancer diseases. In the world, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis is increasing year by year, with the share of one or more allergies among the total children being 40% in South Korea, 35% in Japan, 21% in Russia and 18% in Mongolia. Therefore, we selected a child who was allergic rhinitis and investigated the effects of lead, arsenic, and cadmium on the heavy metal content in the children’s hair. Study objectives: To determine some heavy metals concentration in hair of children with seasonal rhinitis. Method and methodology: Comparison of heavy metal concentrations in children aged 3-16 years old with allergic rhinitis and healthy children was done by using case control study. Quantitative methods were used to collect survey data and materials, as well as questionnaire from parents about children's allergies, sample analysis of children’s hair for heavy metal exposure. Study result: The total number of participants, who gave sample to determine the concentration of lead, arsenic and cadmium in the hair, in the study were 88 children, sexually and age identifiable, 44 of them were children with allergic rhinitis and 44 of them were healthy .The average lead level for healthy children was 0.39±0.05 ug/g, in children with allergic rhinitis it was twice as high as 0.88±0.09 ug/g (p<0.001). The level of arsenic in the hair of healthy children was 0.05±0.007 ug/g, while children with allergic rhinitis were statistically significant, 0.13±0.02 ug/g (p <0.001). The average cadmium for healthy children was 0.056±0.04 ug/g, in children with allergic rhinitis were 0.068±0.05 ug/g (p<0.76). Conclusions: Children with an allergic rhinitis may be more susceptible to heavy metals than healthy children.