RESUMO
The pedodontic admission histories of 1600 Mexican children were analyzed, to determine general epidemiologic factors or oral habits, as well as their relationship with identifiable biopsychosociologic factors. Fifty-six percent of the children gave evidence of an oral habit, with significant predisposition among female patients, single children, subjects in poor physical health (particularly from allergies), as well as children with histories of chronic health problems. Oral habits should be considered a major health hazard because of their high incidence. Successful treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach to the basic cause of the problem.
Assuntos
Transtornos do Comportamento Infantil/etiologia , Comportamento Compulsivo/etiologia , Hábitos , Comportamento de Sucção , Adolescente , Bruxismo/etiologia , Criança , Transtornos do Comportamento Infantil/epidemiologia , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Sucção de Dedo , Nível de Saúde , Humanos , Masculino , México/epidemiologia , Respiração Bucal/etiologia , Filho Único , Prevalência , Hipersensibilidade Respiratória/complicações , Fatores Sexuais , Estresse Psicológico/complicaçõesRESUMO
The main purpose of this study was to assess environmental contamination by arsenic and cadmium in a smelter community (San Luis Potosí City, México) and its possible contribution to an increased body burden of these elements in children. Arsenic and cadmium were found in the environment (air, soil, and household dust, and tap water) as well as in the urine and hair from children. The study was undertaken in three zones: Morales, an urban area close to the smelter complex; Graciano, an urban area 7 km away from the complex; and Mexquitic, a small rural town 25 km away. The environmental study showed that Morales is the most contaminated of the zones studied. The range of arsenic levels in soil (117-1396 ppm), dust (515-2625 ppm), and air (0.13-1.45 micrograms/m3) in the exposed area (Morales) was higher than those in the control areas. Cadmium concentrations were also higher in Morales. Estimates of the arsenic ingestion rate in Morales (1.0-19.8 micrograms/kg/day) were equal to or higher than the reference dose of 1 microgram/kg/day calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The range of arsenic levels in urine (69-594 micrograms/g creatinine) and hair (1.4-57.3 micrograms/g) and that of cadmium in hair (0.25-3.5 micrograms/g) indicated that environmental exposure has resulted in an increased body burden of these elements in children, suggesting that children living in Morales are at high risk of suffering adverse health effects if exposure continues.
Assuntos
Poluentes Atmosféricos/análise , Arsênio/análise , Cádmio/análise , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Cabelo/química , Metalurgia , Arsênio/urina , Cádmio/urina , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , México , Solo/análiseRESUMO
Previously, we had shown that arsenic interacts with cadmium in rats; our results showed that the toxicity of a mixture of arsenic + cadmium cannot be predicted by the toxic mechanisms of the individual components. In this paper, we present further evidence about the interaction of arsenic and cadmium in rats. The results were: arsenic modified the 24 h-LD50 value of cadmium more clearly than cadmium did with the one of arsenic; based on the LD50 values, the mixtures we studied were more toxic than either metal alone. With single doses (As 10 mg/kg, Cd 2.6 mg/kg, and As 10 mg/kg + Cd 2.6 mg/kg) the mixture As + Cd was more toxic than each metal. At these doses, cadmium significantly induces the levels of glutathione, metallothionein, and lipid peroxidation in heart tissue, as compared to a saline group of rats. Arsenic incremented glutathione and lipid peroxidation at higher values than those obtained with cadmium. The mixture of As + Cd behaved as arsenic in the induction of lipid peroxidation and glutathione and like cadmium in metallothionein induction. Finally, rats treated with As + Cd had less Cd in liver than animals treated only with cadmium, and more As in heart tissue than rats treated only with arsenic. Our results give further evidence about the arsenic-cadmium interaction in rats, demonstrate the utility of employing different biomarkers in the study of chemical mixtures and indicate that heart tissue is affected not only by the mixture of As + Cd, but also by either metal alone.