Duka Ykateryna D, Ilchenko Svetlana I, Kharytonov Mykola M, Vasylyeva Tetyana L
Department of Propedeutics of Children Diseases, Dnipropetrovsk State Medical Academy, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
Emerg Health Threats J. 2011 May 6;4:7110. doi: 10.3402/ehtj.v4i0.7110.
Chronic manganese (Mn) exposure is a health hazard associated with the mining and processing of Mn ores. Children living in an area with increased environmental exposure to Mn may have symptoms of chronic toxicity that are different from adults who experience occupational exposure. The aim of the study was to compare health outcomes in a pediatric population living near open Mn mines with a group of children from a reference area and then to develop and implement preventive/rehabilitation measures to protect the children in the mining region.
After environmental assessment, a group of 683 children living in a Mn-rich region of Ukraine were screened by clinical evaluation, detection of sIgA (37 children), micronucleus analysis (56 children), and hair Mn content (166 children).
Impaired growth and rickets-like skeletal deformities were observed in 33% of the children. This was a significantly higher percentage than in children in the reference region (15%). The children from the Mn-mining region also had increased salivary levels of immunoglobulin A (104.4±14.2 mcg/ml vs. 49.7±6.1 mcg/ml) among the controls (p<0.05), increased serum alpha 1 proteinase inhibitor levels (4.93±0.21 g/l compared with 2.91±0.22 g/l for controls; p<0.001) and greater numbers of micronuclei in the mucous cells of the oral cavity (0.070±0.008 vs. 0.012±0.009, p<0.001).
These findings indicate the deleterious health consequences of living in a Mn-mining area. Medical rehabilitation programs were conducted and produced positive results, but further validation of their effectiveness is required. The study provided background information to formulate evidence-based decisions about public health in a region of high Mn exposure.
长期接触锰（Mn）对健康有害，这与锰矿石的开采和加工有关。生活在环境中锰暴露增加地区的儿童可能出现与职业暴露的成年人不同的慢性中毒症状。本研究的目的是比较生活在露天锰矿附近的儿童群体与来自对照地区的一组儿童的健康状况，然后制定并实施预防/康复措施以保护矿区的儿童。
在进行环境评估后，通过临床评估、检测分泌型免疫球蛋白A（37名儿童）、微核分析（56名儿童）和头发锰含量检测（166名儿童），对乌克兰一个富锰地区的683名儿童进行了筛查。
33%的儿童出现生长发育受损和佝偻病样骨骼畸形。这一比例明显高于对照地区的儿童（15%）。来自锰矿区的儿童唾液中免疫球蛋白A水平也有所升高（104.4±14.2微克/毫升，而对照组为49.7±6.1微克/毫升；p<0.05），血清α1蛋白酶抑制剂水平升高（4.93±0.21克/升，对照组为2.91±0.22克/升；p<0.001），口腔黏膜细胞中的微核数量也更多（0.070±0.008对0.012±0.009，p<0.001）。
这些发现表明生活在锰矿区对健康有有害影响。已开展了医疗康复项目并取得了积极成果，但需要进一步验证其有效性。该研究为在高锰暴露地区制定基于证据的公共卫生决策提供了背景信息。
