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Influence of abatement of lead exposure in Croatia on blood lead and ALAD activity

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Abstract

We evaluated the effect of lead (Pb) abatement measures in Croatia on blood lead (BPb) concentrations, and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity in blood, as a sensitive indicator of early Pb effect. Data on BPb and ALAD activity were obtained from 829 Croatian men (19–64 years of age), with no known occupational exposure to metals. Data obtained in 2008–2009, after the ban of leaded gasoline in Croatia in 2006, were compared with similar data collected in 1981 and 1989, when the concentration of Pb in gasoline was 0.6 g/L. Our results showed a highly significant (p < 0.001) decrease in median BPb from 114.5 (range, 46.0–275.0) μg/L in 1981/1989 to 30.3 (range, 3.2–140.8) μg/L in 2008–2009 and an increase in median ALAD activity from 49.8 (range, 24.9–79.4) EU in 1981/1989 to 60.9 (range, 35.8–84.0) EU in 2008–2009. Individual factors influencing BPb values were, in the order of decreasing importance, Pb in ambient air (APb), alcohol consumption, age, and smoking. Increased ALAD activity was significantly associated with the decrease of APb, alcohol consumption, and smoking. These results show that lead abatement measures had a positive impact on both BPb concentrations (73.5 % decrease) and the activity of ALAD (22.1 % increase) in general population. Our results contribute to growing evidence that ALAD activity may be used as one of the earliest and sensitive diagnostic biomarkers of low-level Pb exposure.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia (Project No. 022-0222411-2408). We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Spomenka Telišman and the late Dr. Danica Prpić-Majić, our former mentors and supervisors, as this work is based on their long-standing research in the area of biological monitoring and health effects of lead in humans. We are also grateful to our former colleague J. Pongračić for her invaluable contribution in blood lead analysis.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standard

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of institutional ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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  1. Analytical Toxicology and Mineral Metabolism Unit, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, P. O. Box 291, HR-10001, Zagreb, Croatia

    Kljaković-Gašpić Zorana, Pizent Alica & Jurasović Jasna

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  1. Kljaković-Gašpić Zorana
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Correspondence to Kljaković-Gašpić Zorana.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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ESM 1

Relationship between logarithmically transformed BPb concentrations of 829 male Zagreb citizens with changes in the maximum allowed concentration of lead in gasoline (GPb). The solid line is log10 BPb = 1.4429 + 0.7923 × GPb; r = 0.6432; p < 0.0001. The intercept at GPb = 0 yields a BPb value of 27.73 μg/L (DOCX 62 kb)

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Zorana, KG., Alica, P. & Jasna, J. Influence of abatement of lead exposure in Croatia on blood lead and ALAD activity. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 898–907 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5338-1

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