Table 2.
Median BLL across the users groups
| Type of substance | Route of use | Blood lead level a (μg/dL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median [IQR] | Minimum | Maximum | X 2 | p-value | ||
| Opium (taryak) | Smoking (n = 12) | 80.0 [45.7–110.0] | 36.0 | 126.0 | 0.17 | 0.92 |
| Oral route (n = 154) | 80.0 [51.7–120.0] | 26 | 350 | |||
| Smoking + oral route (n = 43) | 85.0 [51.0–116.0] | 30 | 235 | |||
| Refined opium (shireh) | Smoking (n = 5) | 96.5 [19.7–143.2] | 70 | 150 | 2.37 | 0.31 |
| Oral route (n = 10) | 140.0 [66.5–170.5] | 58 | 250 | |||
| Smoking + oral route (n = 1) | 55.7 [55.7–55.7] | 55.7 | 55.7 | |||
| Opium (Taryak) + refined opium | Smoking (n = 4) | 48.3 [39.0–56.4] | 39 | 58 | 2.51 | 0.28 |
| Oral route (n = 16) | 72.1 [38.2–88.7] | 27 | 200 | |||
| Smoking + oral route (n = 4) | 90.0 [54.8–156.5] | 52 | 205 | |||
| Total | Smoking (n = 21) | 70 [39.8–110.0] | 36 | 150 | ||
| Oral route (n = 180) | 80.0 [51.2–120.7] | 26 | 350 | |||
| Smoking + oral route (n = 48) | 85.0 [52.4–113.0] | 30 | 235 | |||
Median blood lead level (BLL) differences between routes of administration (smoking, oral and combination users) across the user groups (raw opium; refined opium; and combination users)
a compared using Kruskal Wallis test
Degrees of freedom for BLL (df = 2)