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Geographic clustering of elevated blood heavy metal levels in pregnant women

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Public Health, October 2015
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Title
Geographic clustering of elevated blood heavy metal levels in pregnant women
Published in
BMC Public Health, October 2015
DOI 10.1186/s12889-015-2379-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Katherine E. King, Thomas H. Darrah, Eric Money, Ross Meentemeyer, Rachel L. Maguire, Monica D. Nye, Lloyd Michener, Amy P. Murtha, Randy Jirtle, Susan K. Murphy, Michelle A. Mendez, Wayne Robarge, Avner Vengosh, Cathrine Hoyo

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) exposure is ubiquitous and has been associated with higher risk of growth restriction and cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, cost-efficient strategies to identify at-risk populations and potential sources of exposure to inform mitigation efforts are limited. The objective of this study was to describe the spatial distribution and identify factors associated with Cd, Pb, Hg, and As concentrations in peripheral blood of pregnant women. Heavy metals were measured in whole peripheral blood of 310 pregnant women obtained at gestational age ~12 weeks. Prenatal residential addresses were geocoded and geospatial analysis (Getis-Ord Gi* statistics) was used to determine if elevated blood concentrations were geographically clustered. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with elevated blood metal levels and cluster membership. Geospatial clusters for Cd and Pb were identified with high confidence (p-value for Gi* statistic <0.01). The Cd and Pb clusters comprised 10.5 and 9.2 % of Durham County residents, respectively. Medians and interquartile ranges of blood concentrations (μg/dL) for all participants were Cd 0.02 (0.01-0.04), Hg 0.03 (0.01-0.07), Pb 0.34 (0.16-0.83), and As 0.04 (0.04-0.05). In the Cd cluster, medians and interquartile ranges of blood concentrations (μg/dL) were Cd 0.06 (0.02-0.16), Hg 0.02 (0.00-0.05), Pb 0.54 (0.23-1.23), and As 0.05 (0.04-0.05). In the Pb cluster, medians and interquartile ranges of blood concentrations (μg/dL) were Cd 0.03 (0.02-0.15), Hg 0.01 (0.01-0.05), Pb 0.39 (0.24-0.74), and As 0.04 (0.04-0.05). Co-exposure with Pb and Cd was also clustered, the p-values for the Gi* statistic for Pb and Cd was <0.01. Cluster membership was associated with lower education levels and higher pre-pregnancy BMI. Our data support that elevated blood concentrations of Cd and Pb are spatially clustered in this urban environment compared to the surrounding areas. Spatial analysis of metals concentrations in peripheral blood or urine obtained routinely during prenatal care can be useful in surveillance of heavy metal exposure.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 109 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 109 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 19 17%
Student > Ph. D. Student 12 11%
Student > Doctoral Student 10 9%
Student > Bachelor 10 9%
Researcher 9 8%
Other 23 21%
Unknown 26 24%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 11 10%
Environmental Science 10 9%
Nursing and Health Professions 9 8%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 8 7%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 8 7%
Other 31 28%
Unknown 32 29%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 24 January 2016.
All research outputs
#18,436,183
of 22,840,638 outputs
Outputs from BMC Public Health
#12,868
of 14,883 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#200,523
of 278,753 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Public Health
#232
of 269 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,840,638 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 11th percentile – i.e., 11% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 14,883 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 13.9. This one is in the 6th percentile – i.e., 6% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 278,753 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 16th percentile – i.e., 16% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 269 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 4th percentile – i.e., 4% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.