Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
J Med Life. 2022 May;15(5):601-605. doi: 10.25122/jml-2022-0017.
Elemental homeostasis is essential for maintaining normal metabolic processes. Elements in the toenails are now considered in the diagnosis or screening and used as biomarkers of several metabolic disorders. The incidence of obesity is more prevalent in females than males globally. At the same time, females appeared more susceptible to elemental alterations than males. This study aimed to evaluate the variation in the levels of several elements in toenails as possible biomarkers of health conditions associated with obesity in young Saudi females. A cross-sectional study was performed, between February-November 2019. The study enrolled 79 young females divided into two groups: participants with obesity (n=39) and non-obese (n=40). The toenail was analyzed to estimate Fe, I, K, Na, Cd, Cr, Mn, Ca, Mg, Cu, Co, and Se levels. The study showed a significant elevation in the levels of Fe, Ca, K, and Na in the toenail sample of female participants with obesity compared to the non-obese group. The levels of Mn, Cd, Co, Cu, and Cr, were significantly decreased in the toenail of participants with obesity. Moreover, other elements (., Mg, I, and Se) were not significantly lower in the female group with obesity. Our findings confirmed the alterations of several elements among Saudi females with obesity. The toenail elemental analysis may become a useful diagnostic technique in monitoring the nutritional status, predicting some metabolic disorders, and environmental exposure.
元素动态平衡对于维持正常代谢过程至关重要。目前，人们认为指甲中的元素可用于诊断或筛查，并可作为几种代谢紊乱的生物标志物。肥胖在全球范围内女性的发病率高于男性。与此同时，女性似乎比男性更容易受到元素变化的影响。本研究旨在评估指甲中几种元素水平的变化，以作为与肥胖相关的健康状况的生物标志物。本研究为 2019 年 2 月至 11 月进行的横断面研究。研究纳入了 79 名年轻女性，分为肥胖组（n=39）和非肥胖组（n=40）。分析指甲以评估铁、碘、钾、钠、镉、铬、锰、钙、镁、铜、钴和硒的水平。研究表明，与非肥胖组相比，肥胖女性指甲样本中的铁、钙、钾和钠水平显著升高。肥胖组指甲中锰、镉、钴、铜和铬的水平显著降低。此外，肥胖女性组的其他元素（如镁、碘和硒）水平没有显著降低。我们的研究结果证实了肥胖沙特女性体内多种元素的变化。指甲元素分析可能成为监测营养状况、预测某些代谢紊乱和环境暴露的有用诊断技术。
