School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei, China.
Institute for Occupational Health and Poison Control in China Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2021 Feb 22;16(2):e0246943. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246943. eCollection 2021.
Many studies have documented the abnormal concentrations of metals/metalloids in serum or urine of occupational workers, but no works systematically analysed the concentrations of elements in serum or urine of indium-exposed workers. This study was aimed to assess 28 elements in serum and urine from 57 individuals with occupational exposure to indium and its compounds. Control subjects were 63 workers without metal exposure. We collected information on occupation and lifestyle habits by questionnaire. Biological samples were collected to quantify elements by inductive coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. Air in the breathing zones was drawn at flow rates of 1.5-3 L/min for a sampling period of 6 to 8 h, using a Model BFC-35 pump. The average ambient indium level was 0.078 mg/m3. Serum/urine Indium levels were significantly higher in indium-exposed workers than in controls (P < 0.01). Moreover, serum/urine indium concentrations in the group with 6-14 years and ≥15 years of employment were significantly higher than those with ≤5 employment years(P < 0.05). Ten of the other 27 elements/metals measured were higher in serum/urine in indium-exposed workers compared to the controls (aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, cesium, chromium, lithium, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum and vanadium). Zinc levels in serum/urine were significantly decreased in the indium-exposed workers. Additionally, other elements/metals were higher in one specimen (serum or urine) but lower in the other (Selenium was lower in serum but higher in urine in the indium-exposed workers compared with the controls; likewise Thallium and Rubidium were higher in serum but lower in urine). Linear regression analyses, revealed significant correlations between serum and urine for indium, aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, cobalt, selenium, silver, and zinc (P < 0.05). These data suggest that occupational exposure to indium and its compounds may disturb the homeostasis of trace elements in systemic circulation, indium concentrations in serum or urine appear reflective of workers' exposure to ambient indium and their years of working, respectively. The serum/urine levels of essential metals are modified by exposure to indium in occupationally exposed workers. Further studies including larger sample size and more kinds of biological sample are needed to validate our findings.
许多研究已经记录了职业工人血清或尿液中金属/类金属的异常浓度，但没有研究系统地分析过职业接触铟及其化合物的工人血清或尿液中元素的浓度。本研究旨在评估 57 名职业接触铟及其化合物的个体血清和尿液中的 28 种元素。对照组为 63 名无金属接触的工人。我们通过问卷收集职业和生活方式习惯的信息。采集生物样本，采用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪定量元素。采用 BFC-35 型泵以 1.5-3 L/min 的流速在呼吸区采集空气，采样时间为 6-8 h。铟暴露工人的血清/尿铟水平明显高于对照组（P < 0.01）。此外，工作年限 6-14 年和≥15 年的工人血清/尿铟浓度明显高于工作年限≤5 年的工人（P < 0.05）。在铟暴露组中，10 种其他 27 种元素/金属的血清/尿浓度高于对照组（铝、铍、镉、铯、铬、锂、锰、镁、钼和钒）。血清/尿锌水平在铟暴露工人中明显降低。此外，其他元素/金属在一个标本（血清或尿液）中升高而在另一个标本（硒在铟暴露工人的血清中较低，而在尿液中较高；而铊和铷在血清中较高，在尿液中较低）中降低。线性回归分析显示，血清和尿液中铟、铝、砷、钡、镉、铯、钴、硒、银和锌之间存在显著相关性（P < 0.05）。这些数据表明，职业接触铟及其化合物可能会干扰全身循环中微量元素的内稳态，血清或尿液中的铟浓度分别反映了工人接触环境铟及其工作年限。职业接触铟会改变接触工人血清中必需金属的水平。需要进一步研究，包括更大的样本量和更多种类的生物样本，以验证我们的发现。
