Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 6710B Rockledge Dr, MSC 7004, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA.
Curr Environ Health Rep. 2020 Sep;7(3):211-221. doi: 10.1007/s40572-020-00289-y.
Technological advances have allowed dried blood spots (DBS) to be utilized for various measurements, helpful in population-based studies. The following is a review of the literature highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of DBS and describing their use in multiple areas of research.
DBS can track pollutant exposure to understand their impact on health. DBS can also be used for (epi-)genetic studies, to measure clinical biomarkers, and to monitor drug adherence. Advantages of DBS include being minimally invasive, requiring low blood volume, and being cost-effective to collect, transport, and store. Disadvantages of DBS include the hematocrit effect, which is related to the viscosity of the blood affecting its spread on to the filter paper, causing a major source of error when assessing concentrations, and the possibility of low DNA volume. Numerous uses for DBS make them an important source of biomaterial but they require additional validation for accuracy and reproducibility.
技术进步使得干血斑（DBS）可用于各种测量，有助于进行基于人群的研究。以下是对文献的综述，重点介绍了 DBS 的优缺点，并描述了它们在多个研究领域的应用。
DBS 可用于跟踪污染物暴露情况，以了解其对健康的影响。DBS 还可用于（表观）遗传学研究、测量临床生物标志物和监测药物依从性。DBS 的优点包括微创、所需血量少，且采集、运输和储存具有成本效益。DBS 的缺点包括血细胞比容效应，这与血液的粘度有关，会影响其在滤纸上的扩散，从而导致在评估浓度时产生主要的误差源，以及 DNA 体积可能较小。DBS 的多种用途使其成为生物材料的重要来源，但它们需要进一步验证以确保准确性和重现性。
