Association between Blood Lead Levels and Delta-Aminolevulinic Acid Dehydratase in Pregnant Women

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 14; no. 4; p. 432
• Main Authors: La-Llave-León, Osmel, Méndez-Hernández, Edna M, Castellanos-Juárez, Francisco X, Esquivel-Rodríguez, Eloísa, Vázquez-Alaniz, Fernando, Sandoval-Carrillo, Ada, García-Vargas, Gonzalo, Duarte-Sustaita, Jaime, Candelas-Rangel, Jorge L, Salas-Pacheco, José M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.04.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Absorption spectroscopy; Adolescent; Adult; Aminolevulinic acid; Atomic absorption analysis; Bioindicators; Biomarkers - blood; Blood; Blood levels; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dehydration; Disease control; Female; Health risk assessment; Humans; Lead; Lead - blood; Lead content; Lead poisoning; Lead Poisoning - blood; Linear Models; Mexico; Porphobilinogen Synthase - blood; Porphobilinogen Synthase - metabolism; Pregnancy; Spectral analysis; Spectrophotometry; Spectrophotometry, Atomic; Statistical analysis; Studies; Toxicity; Womens health; Young Adult; lead toxicity; pregnant women; lead exposure; delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity; blood lead levels
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14040432

Blood lead levels (BLLs) and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity are considered biomarkers of lead exposure and lead toxicity, respectively. The present study was designed to investigate the association between BLLs and ALAD activity in pregnant women from Durango, Mexico. A total of 633 pregnant women aged 13-43 years participated in this study. Blood lead was measured by a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer. ALAD activity was measured spectrophotometrically. Mean blood lead was 2.09 ± 2.34 µg/dL; and 26 women (4.1%) crossed the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended level of 5 µg/dL. ALAD activity was significantly lower in women with levels of lead ≥5 µg/dL compared to those with BLLs < 5 µg/dL ( = 0.002). To reduce the influence of extreme values on the statistical analysis, BLLs were analyzed by quartiles. A significant negative correlation between blood lead and ALAD activity was observed in the fourth quartile of BLLs (r = -0.113; < 0.01). Among women with blood lead concentrations ≥2.2 µg/dL ALAD activity was negatively correlated with BLLs (r = -0.413; < 0.01). Multiple linear regression demonstrated that inhibition of ALAD in pregnant women may occur at levels of lead in blood above 2.2 µg/dL.