Baseline blood levels of manganese, lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc in residents of Beijing suburb

- Baseline blood levels of metals in residents of Beijing suburb are investigated.
- BMn and BPb in this cohort are higher than those in other developed countries.
- Remarkably lower blood levels of Cu and Zn in this Chinese cohort are noticed.
- The reference values for blood levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd are established.

Baseline blood concentrations of metals are important references for monitoring metal exposure in environmental and occupational settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the blood levels of manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) among the residents (aged 12-60 years old) living in the suburb southwest of Beijing in China and to compare the outcomes with reported values in various developed countries. Blood samples were collected from 648 subjects from March 2009 to February 2010. Metal concentrations in the whole blood were determined by ICP-MS. The geometric means of blood levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd were 11.4, 802.4, 4665, 42.6, and 0.68 µg/L, respectively. Male subjects had higher blood Pb than the females, while the females had higher blood Mn and Cu than the males. There was no gender difference for blood Cd and Zn. Smokers had higher blood Cu, Zn, and Cd than nonsmokers. There were significant age-related differences in blood levels of all metals studied; subjects in the 17-30 age group had higher blood levels of Mn, Pb, Cu, and Zn, while those in the 46-60 age group had higher Cd than the other age groups. A remarkably lower blood level of Cu and Zn in this population as compared with residents of other developed countries was noticed. Based on the current study, the normal reference ranges for the blood Mn were estimated to be 5.80-25.2 μg/L; for blood Cu, 541-1475 μg/L; for blood Zn, 2349-9492 μg/L; for blood Pb, <100 μg/L; and for blood Cd, <5.30 μg/L in the general population living in Beijing suburbs.