Abstract
The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (The HUNT Study) is a large health survey population study in the county of Trøndelag, Norway. The survey has been repeated four times in about 10-year intervals. In the HUNT3 survey (2006–2008), we collected 28,000 samples for trace element analysis. Blood samples from 758 healthy persons without known occupational exposure were selected for multielement analysis of a small sample of blood (0.25 mL). The aim of the study was to determine the minimum blood volume that can be used for the analytical procedure and to compare our results with previously published results of similar surveys in healthy populations. Samples were digested and the concentration of selected trace elements was determined by ICP-MS. We report results on essential elements (B, Co, Cu, Mn, Se and Zn) as well as non-essential elements (As, Be, Br, Cd, Cs, In, La, Pb, Hg, Nd, Ni, Nb, Pd, Pt, Sm, Ta and Sn). Results are similar to previous studies on the HUNT3 population, and with a few exceptions, our data compares very well with results obtained in recent studies from other countries. We wanted to test a minimum volume of blood in a large-scale analytical program. For a number of nonessential elements, our results were below the limit of detection. We suggest that future studies using similar ICP-MS equipment as analytical tool should use at least 0.5 mL of blood.
Highlights
It is a fundamental principle in pharmacology and toxicology that the effect of an agent becomes more likely if the dose or exposure increases
Inadequate body burden of essential elements can be caused by the diet being deficient in the particular element or that other factors in the local environment may change the uptake efficiency of that essential element [1]
To complicate the issue further, we do know that a disease may, by itself or through necessary medication, change trace element metabolism
Summary
It is a fundamental principle in pharmacology and toxicology that the effect of an agent becomes more likely if the dose or exposure increases. Most environmental contaminants that may induce health effects behave this way. For trace elements, it becomes somewhat more complicated. When we find a correlation between a single time point blood sample and a health indicator, we should always ask ourselves—is it the change in trace element body burden that induces the health effect or the other way around that the health condition has caused changes in trace element metabolism. One approach to resolve such challenges is to medically examine and sample the same population repeatedly over an extended time period. This is one aim for our HUNT Survey of trace elements and health
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