Afridi Hassan Imran, Talpur Farah Naz, Kazi Tasneem Gul, Brabazon Dermot
Clin Lab. 2015;61(9):1147-56. doi: 10.7754/clin.lab.2015.141120.
Cigarette smoking interferes with the metal homeostasis of the human body, which plays a crucial role for maintaining health. A significant flux of heavy metals, among other toxins, reaches the lungs through smoking. In the present study, the relationship between toxic element (TE) exposure via cigarette smoking and hypertension incidence in population living in Dublin, Ireland is investigated.
The toxic elements arsenic (As), aluminum (Al), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) were determined in biological (scalp hair and, blood) samples of patients diagnosed with hypertension who are smokers living in Dublin, Ireland. These results were compared with age- and sex-matched healthy, nonsmoker controls. The different brands of cigarettes (filler tobacco, filter, and ash) consumed by the studied population were also analyzed for As, Al, Ni, and Pb. The concentrations of TEs in biological samples and different components of the cigarettes were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The validity and accuracy of the methodology were checked using certified reference materials.
The recovery of all the studied elements was found to be in the range of 97.8% - 99.6% in certified reference materials. The filler tobacco of different branded cigarettes contains As, Al, Ni, and Pb concentrations in the ranges of 0.432 - 0.727 μg, 360 - 496 μg, 0.715 - 1.52 μg, and 0.378 - 1.16 μg/cigarette, respectively. The results of this study showed that the mean values of Al, As, Ni, and Pb were significantly higher in scalp hair and blood samples of hypertensive patients in relation to healthy controls, while the difference was significant in the case of smoker patients (p < 0.001). The levels of TEs were 2 - 3-fold higher in scalp hair and blood samples of non-hypertensive smoker subjects as compared to nonsmoker controls.
The high exposure of toxic metals as a result of cigarette smoking may be synergistic with risk factors associated with hypertension.
吸烟会干扰人体的金属稳态，而金属稳态对维持健康起着至关重要的作用。大量重金属以及其他毒素通过吸烟进入肺部。在本研究中，调查了爱尔兰都柏林居民中因吸烟接触有毒元素（TE）与高血压发病率之间的关系。
对爱尔兰都柏林被诊断为高血压的吸烟患者的生物样本（头皮毛发和血液）中的有毒元素砷（As）、铝（Al）、镍（Ni）和铅（Pb）进行了测定。将这些结果与年龄和性别匹配的健康非吸烟对照者进行比较。还对研究人群所消费的不同品牌香烟（填充烟草、过滤嘴和烟灰）中的As、Al、Ni和Pb进行了分析。生物样本和香烟不同成分中的TE浓度在微波辅助酸消解后通过电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪进行测量。使用认证参考物质检查了该方法的有效性和准确性。
在认证参考物质中，所有研究元素的回收率在97.8% - 99.6%范围内。不同品牌香烟的填充烟草中，As、Al、Ni和Pb的浓度分别在0.432 - 0.727μg/支、360 - 496μg/支、0.715 - 1.52μg/支和0.378 - 1.16μg/支范围内。本研究结果表明，高血压患者头皮毛发和血液样本中Al、As、Ni和Pb的平均值相对于健康对照者显著更高，而吸烟者患者的差异具有统计学意义（p < 0.001）。与非吸烟对照者相比，非高血压吸烟者受试者的头皮毛发和血液样本中TE水平高出2 - 3倍。
吸烟导致的有毒金属高暴露可能与高血压相关风险因素具有协同作用。
