Negassa Belay, Dadi Dessalegn, Soboksa Negasa Eshete, Fekadu Samuel
Department of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia.
Department of Environmental Health Science and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Health Institute, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Environ Health Insights. 2025 Jan 2;19:11786302241310661. doi: 10.1177/11786302241310661. eCollection 2025.
Vegetables play critical role in human nutrition and overall health. However, consumption of vegetables cultivated through wastewater-impacted river can be source of potentially toxic heavy metals, which can cause detrimental health effects when their concentration exceeds the recommended maximum levels. Despite growing body of evidence highlighting the dangers associated with heavy metal accumulation in vegetables, there remains critical gap in systematic assessments within Ethiopian context. Therefore, objective of this review is to reveal heavy metals concentrations in vegetables grown with wastewater-impacted river and assess associated public health risks.
Research articles published in English were identified through systematic searching using electronic databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, WHO/FAO library, and searching from Google manually. The outcomes of interest were mean concentration of heavy metals in vegetables and associated health risks. Cross-sectional studies that met inclusion criteria were considered. Data were extracted by independent reviewers. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using critical appraisal tools. Moreover, health risks of consumers were assessed through evaluating estimated daily intakes (EDI), Health Risk Index (HRI), and Hazard Index (HI).
Nineteen articles were included in this systematic review. The findings revealed that the mean concentration of Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, and Fe in tested vegetables ranged from: 0.28-7.68, 0.75-33.01, 0.14-3.93, 0.05-3.13, ND-4.25, 0.92-15.33, 2.13-13.1, 18.27-62.83, 8.83-331.8, and 177.8-1034.3 mg/kg (dry weight), respectively. The EDI of Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, and Fe in vegetables was range from: 0.00104-0.0286, 0.00279-0.123, 0.00052-0.0146, 0.0000372-0.0116, 0.0124-0.0158, 0.00342-0.0439, 0.0079-0.0487, 0.068-0.23, 0.03-1.23, and 0.53-3.84 mg/kg/day, respectively. The HRI of toxic heavy metals for all vegetable types ranged as; Pb (0.26-7.15), Cr (0.00186-0.0820), Cd (0.52-14.6), As (0.12-38.7), and Hg (1.24-1.58). The HRI due to consumption of all vegetables was 35, 0.168, 46.6, 70, and 2.82 for Pb, Cr, Cd, As, and Hg, respectively indicating severe health impact except for Cr.
This review underscores health implications linked to consumption of vegetables cultivated using wastewater in Ethiopia. It revealed that the concentration of toxic heavy metals in vegetables grown with wastewater-affected water was higher than the maximum allowable safe limit set for edible vegetables by WHO that would be a public health risk.
蔬菜在人类营养和整体健康中起着关键作用。然而，食用通过受废水影响的河流灌溉种植的蔬菜可能成为潜在有毒重金属的来源，当这些重金属的浓度超过推荐的最大水平时，会对健康产生有害影响。尽管越来越多的证据凸显了蔬菜中重金属积累的危险性，但在埃塞俄比亚背景下的系统评估仍存在关键差距。因此，本综述的目的是揭示用受废水影响的河水种植的蔬菜中的重金属浓度，并评估相关的公共卫生风险。
通过使用包括PubMed、谷歌学术、世卫组织/粮农组织图书馆等电子数据库进行系统检索，并手动在谷歌上搜索，来识别以英文发表的研究文章。感兴趣的结果是蔬菜中重金属的平均浓度及相关健康风险。考虑符合纳入标准的横断面研究。数据由独立评审员提取。使用关键评估工具评估纳入研究的方法学质量。此外，通过评估估计每日摄入量（EDI）、健康风险指数（HRI）和危害指数（HI）来评估消费者的健康风险。
本系统综述纳入了19篇文章。研究结果显示，受试蔬菜中铅、铬、镉、砷、汞、铜、镍、锌、锰和铁的平均浓度分别为：0.28 - 7.68、0.75 - 33.01、0.14 - 3.93、0.05 - 3.13、未检出 - 4.25（ND表示未检出）、0.92 - 15.33、2.13 - 13.1、18.27 - 62.83、8.83 - 331.8和177.8 - 1034.3毫克/千克（干重）。蔬菜中铅、铬、镉、砷、汞、铜、镍、锌、锰和铁的估计每日摄入量分别为：0.00104 - 0.0286、0.00279 - 0.123、0.00052 - 0.0146、0.000s0372 - 0.0116、0.0124 - 0.0158、0.00342 - 0.0439、0.0079 - 0.0487、0.068 - 0.23、0.03 - 1.23和0.53 - 3.84毫克/千克/天。所有蔬菜类型的有毒重金属健康风险指数范围如下：铅（0.26 - 7.15）、铬（0.00186 - 0.0820）、镉（0.52 - 14.6）、砷（0.12 - 38.7）和汞（1.24 - 1.58）。因食用所有蔬菜导致的铅、铬、镉、砷和汞的健康风险指数分别为35、0.168、46.6、70和2.82，这表明除铬外均对健康有严重影响。
本综述强调了埃塞俄比亚食用用废水种植的蔬菜对健康的影响。研究表明，用受废水影响的水种植的蔬菜中有毒重金属的浓度高于世界卫生组织为可食用蔬菜设定的最大允许安全限值，这将构成公共卫生风险。
