Blood lead level and its relationship to certain essential elements in the children aged 0 to 14 years from Beijing, China

ObjectiveTo investigate blood lead level and its relationship to copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron in the children aged 0 to 14 years old from Beijing, China.MethodsWe classified 3181 children into one of the four groups: Group A (n = 783, < 1 year old); Group B (n = 1538, 1–3 years old); Group C (n = 443, 3–7 years old); and, Group D (n = 417, 7–14 years old). All these metal elements were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry.ResultsThe blood lead level was 0.207 ± 0.105 μmol/L. There was a significant gender difference for zinc (P < 0.05) in Group C, and there was also a significant gender difference for copper (P < 0.05) and lead (P < 0.05) in Group D. Controlling for gender and age, we observed that there was a negative correlation of lead with zinc (r = − 0.052, P < 0.01), magnesium (r = − 0.042, P < 0.05) and iron (r = − 0.031, P < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, in the children aged 1–7 years old, we also found there was a negative linear correlation of lead with zinc, magnesium and iron, respectively (P < 0.01).ConclusionBlood lead level in children from Beijing was markedly decreased. And deficiency of zinc, magnesium and iron is related to the elevated blood lead level in the children aged 1–7 years.

Research highlights
► We studied blood lead level and nutritional metals in children aged 0–14 years from Beijing, China.
► There are 3181 children, which is a relatively large sample.
► We investigated the relationship between lead and copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium, iron.
► Our data are all for the whole blood.
► Our information can be helpful for further control efforts to reduce children's exposure to lead.