Vidyadharan Mathew, Issac Jyothi S, Joseph Angel M, Joseph Ashwin, John Dhanya, Varadharaju Vinutha K
Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, PMS College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
Department of Substitutive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University-Al-Zulfi, Al Majma'ah, Saudi Arabia.
J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2020 Jun 15;10(3):269-278. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_52_20. eCollection 2020 May-Jun.
The increased prevalence of fluorosis has led to a search for biomarkers of fluoride exposure. Among the biomarkers of sub-chronic exposure to fluoride, hair, fingernails, and toenails have the advantage of being noninvasively collected, easily transported, and stored.
The objective of this study was to comparatively evaluate coronal hair, fingernails, and toenails as biomarkers of fluoride exposure from drinking water; the study was designed as a population-based observational cross-sectional study.
A population-based observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 60 children (20 subjects per group) of ages 12-17 years in three villages of Nilakottai block, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India (Thomaspuram, Bangalapatti, and Singampatti). The fluoride concentration in the household drinking water was analyzed and compared with the fluoride content in the coronal hair, fingernail, and toenail clippings, which was estimated by potentiometric method (fluoride-ion-selective electrode) and expressed in ppm (parts per million). A two-tailed probability value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
The mean fluoride concentration in drinking water was 0.63ppm in Thomaspuram, 1.63ppm in Bangalapatti, and 2.92ppm in Singampatti. The mean fluoride content in hair samples was 2.84ppm, 4.67ppm, and 6.53ppm; fingernail clippings was 2.99ppm, 4.94ppm, and 6.84ppm; and toenail clippings was estimated as 3.13ppm, 5.10ppm, and 7.24ppm in Thomaspuram, Bangalapatti, and Singampatti residents, respectively. The mean fluoride content in the hair, fingernails, and toenails was significantly higher as compared to the mean fluoride content in the drinking water (viz., toenail fluoride > fingernail fluoride > hair fluoride).
Coronal hair, fingernails, and toenails are useful biomarkers for both sub-chronic and chronic fluoride exposure from drinking water. Due to ample sample availability and the highest fluoride content, toenails are the most suitable biomarkers of fluoride exposure from drinking water.
氟中毒患病率的上升促使人们寻找氟暴露的生物标志物。在亚慢性氟暴露的生物标志物中，头发、指甲和趾甲具有无创采集、易于运输和储存的优势。
本研究的目的是比较评估冠状头发、指甲和趾甲作为饮用水氟暴露生物标志物的情况；该研究设计为基于人群的观察性横断面研究。
在印度泰米尔纳德邦丁迪古尔区尼拉科塔伊街区的三个村庄（托马斯普拉姆、班加拉帕蒂和辛甘帕蒂）对60名12至17岁的儿童（每组20名受试者）进行了基于人群的观察性横断面研究。分析了家庭饮用水中的氟浓度，并与冠状头发、指甲和趾甲剪屑中的氟含量进行了比较，后者通过电位分析法（氟离子选择性电极）进行估算，并以ppm（百万分之一）表示。双尾概率值<0.05被认为具有显著性。
托马斯普拉姆的饮用水中氟平均浓度为0.63ppm，班加拉帕蒂为1.63ppm，辛甘帕蒂为2.92ppm。托马斯普拉姆、班加拉帕蒂和辛甘帕蒂居民的头发样本中氟平均含量分别为2.84ppm、4.67ppm和6.53ppm；指甲剪屑中分别为2.99ppm、4.94ppm和6.84ppm；趾甲剪屑中分别估计为3.13ppm、5.10ppm和7.24ppm。头发、指甲和趾甲中的氟平均含量与饮用水中的氟平均含量相比显著更高（即，趾甲氟>指甲氟>头发氟）。
冠状头发、指甲和趾甲是饮用水亚慢性和慢性氟暴露的有用生物标志物。由于样本易于获取且氟含量最高，趾甲是饮用水氟暴露最合适的生物标志物。
