Table 3.
Reference values for the United States population (in μg/L), NHANES 2005-2006 [110].
| Metal | Ages (years) | Specimen† | Geometric mean (95% CI) | 50th percentile (95% CI) | 95th percentile (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic | 6–11 | U | 7.19 (5.81–8.90) | 6.96 (5.32–8.88) | 34.1 (19.6–58.5) |
| UCC | 8.88 (7.05–11.2) | 7.87 (6.19–9.42) | 45.4 (22.9–80.9) | ||
| 12–19 | U | 8.19 (6.87–9.77) | 7.92 (6.37–9.50) | 41.9 (32.7–48.0) | |
| UCC | 6.30 (5.56–7.14) | 5.19 (4.80–6.19) | 28.0 (21.9–33.2) | ||
|
| |||||
| Cadmium | 1–5 | WB | NA* | NA | 0.230 (0.210–0.250) |
| 6–11 | WB | NA | NA | 0.260 (0.230–0.280) | |
| 12–19 | WB | NA | NA | 0.960 (0.820–1.08) | |
| 6–11 |
U | 0.066 (0.056–0.078) | 0.060 (0.050–0.080) | 0.240 (0.160–0.290) | |
| UCC | 0.081 (0.072–0.092) | 0.080 (0.070–0.090) | 0.200 (0.180–0.240) | ||
| 12–19 | U | 0.099 (0.090–0.109) | 0.110 (0.100–0.120) | 0.310 (0.250–0.430) | |
| UCC | 0.076 (0.071–0.081) | 0.080 (0.070–0.090) | 0.210 (0.160–0.240) | ||
|
| |||||
| Lead‡ | 1–5 | WB | 1.46 (1.36–1.57) | 1.43 (1.34–1.55) | 3.80 (3.49–4.54) |
| 6–11 | WB | 1.02 (0.948–1.10) | 0.970 (0.890–1.01) | 3.00 (2.26–3.81) | |
| 12–19 | WB | 0.797 (0.746–0.852) | 0.740 (0.690–0.790) | 2.23 (1.98–2.46) | |
|
| |||||
| Mercury | 1–5 | WB | NA | NA | 1.43 (1.25–1.59) |
| 6–11 | WB | NA | 0.410 (0.330–0.460) | 2.34 (1.53–3.42) | |
| 12–19 | WB | 0.513 (0.461–0.570) | 0.460 (0.390–0.530) | 2.41 (2.12–2.90) | |
| 6–11 |
U | 0.333 (0.267–0.416) | 0.320 (0.250–0.390) | 2.18 (1.28–3.40) | |
| UCC | 0.411 (0.323–0.524) | 0.390 (0.290–0.500) | 2.55 (1.38–3.50) | ||
| 12–19 | U | 0.372 (0.286–0.486) | 0.350 (0.270–0.470) | 2.59 (1.40–4.45) | |
| UCC | 0.286 (0.230–0.356) | 0.260 (0.200–0.320) | 1.76 (1.11–2.67) | ||
†U: urine; UCC: urine, creatinine corrected (in μg/g of creatinine); WB: whole blood.
‡Lead measurements reported in μg/dL.
*NA: not available or not calculated due to low detection frequency.