Table 4.
Median whole blood heavy metal concentrations by selected environmental characteristics1
| n (%) | Antimony, μg/L | p2 | Cadmium, μg/L | p | Cobalt, μg/L | p | Copper, μg/L | p | Lead, μg/dL | p | Manganese, μg/L | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House | |||||||||||||
| Wall material3 | |||||||||||||
| Cement | 53 (55.2) | 6.7 (5.8, 7.3) | 0.75 | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14) | 0.78 | 0.39 (0.29, 0.53) | 0.84 | 1142 (997, 1429) | 0.62 | 5.6 (3.9, 6.9) | 0.22 | 17.2 (10.4, 27.1)a | 0.04 |
| Mud/dung | 40 (43.8) | 6.4 (5.5, 7.5) | 0.08 (0.04, 0.13) | 0.46 (0.33, 0.62) | 1160 (1061, 1437) | 6.1 (4.7, 8.9) | 12.2 (9.4, 19.0)b | ||||||
| Other | 3 (3.1) | 7.1 (6.6, 7.3) | 0.11 (0.01, 0.14) | 0.54 (0.21, 0.85) | 1204 (945, 1260) | 6.6 (3.7, 9.4) | 9.0 (8.7, 20.8) a,b | ||||||
| Painted walls,3 doors, windows | |||||||||||||
| No | 67 (69.8) | 6.6 (5.7, 7.4) | 0.56 | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14) | 0.42 | 0.48 (0.31, 0.65) | 0.08 | 1208 (1072, 1446) | 0.84 | 6.1 (4.7, 8.8) | 0.50 | 13.2 (9.4, 21.6) | 0.87 |
| Yes | 29 (30.2) | 6.6 (5.5, 7.1) | 0.06 (0.03, 0.12) | 0.36 (0.28, 0.45) | 1107 (977, 1386) | 4.5 (3.9, 5.8) | 15.5 (9.3, 24.7) | ||||||
| Floor material | |||||||||||||
| Cement4 | 51 (54.3) | 6.6 (5.7, 7.2) | 0.51 | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14) | 0.78 | 0.40 (0.28, 0.52) | 0.53 | 1135 (987, 1463) | 0.39 | 5.6 (4.0, 6.3) | 0.89 | 15.8 (9.3, 27.6) | 0.04 |
| Mud/ dung/clay | 43 (45.7) | 6.6 (5.7, 7.4) | 0.08 (0.04, 0.13) | 0.45 (0.32, 0.58) | 1171 (1050, 1355) | 6.1 (4.7, 8.9) | 12.0 (9.0, 18.5) | ||||||
| Windows5 | |||||||||||||
| No | 52 (67.5) | 6.4 (5.5, 7.1) | 0.08 | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14) | 0.75 | 0.40 (0.29, 0.54) | 0.77 | 1114 (978, 1345) | 0.28 | 5.7 (4.1, 7.7) | 0.30 | 12.9 (8.6, 19.7) | 0.26 |
| Yes | 25 (32.5) | 7.0 (6.5, 7.7) | 0.08 (0.06, 0.12) | 0.41 (0.31, 0.54) | 1260 (1106, 1260) | 6.1 (4.6, 7.2) | 15.1 (10.5, 19.6) | ||||||
| Water/Cooking | |||||||||||||
| Drinking water | |||||||||||||
| Community tap | 66 (66.0) | 6.6 (5.8, 7.5) | 0.88 | 0.08 (0.04, 0.13) | 0.59 | 0.40 (0.28, 0.54) | 0.49 | 1133 (997, 1382) | 0.52 | 5.6 (3.9, 6.4) | 0.10 | 13.0 (9.3, 20.9) | 0.36 |
| Tap in home | 18 (18.0) | 6.4 (5.7, 6.8) | 0.09 (0.03, 0.15) | 0.41 (0.27, 0.63) | 1227 (1063, 1467) | 5.9 (4.7, 8.7) | 13.5 (10.5, 15.8) | ||||||
| Well or spring | 16 (16.0) | 6.6 (5.6, 7.3) | 0.09 (0.05, 0.15) | 0.48 (0.33, 0.55) | 1492 (1092, 1493) | 7.1 (5.7, 10.1) | 20.2 (9.3, 30.1) | ||||||
| Cooking where?3 | |||||||||||||
| Inside | 53 (55.2) | 6.5 (5.7, 7.3) | 0.44 | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14) | 0.40 | 0.45 (0.31, 0.55) | 0.93 | 1159 (1050, 1444) | 0.22 | 5.8 (4.5, 7.7) | 0.26 | 13.0 (8.7, 19.7) | 0.27 |
| Outside | 43 (44.8) | 6.6 (5.8, 7.3) | 0.07 (0.03, 0.12) | 0.41 (0.28, 0.53) | 1160 (1005, 1427) | 5.8 (4.4, 7.7) | 15.0 (10.5, 25.3) | ||||||
| Home located near | |||||||||||||
| Main road6 | |||||||||||||
| 5 m or less | 32 (32.3) | 6.7 (5.5, 8.2) | 0.22 | 0.07 (0.04, 0.13) | 0.66 | 0.44 (0.31, 0.60) | 0.73 | 1135 (982, 1416) | 0.60 | 6.0 (4.6, 8.1) | 0.46 | 17.1 (9.7, 27.1) | 0.10 |
| ¼ mile + | 67 (67.7) | 6.5 (5.7, 7.2) | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14) | 0.41 (0.28, 0.54) | 1195 (1032, 1429) | 5.7 (4.4, 7.7) | 13.1 (9.0, 20.2) | ||||||
| Landfill6 | |||||||||||||
| No | 94 (94.9) | 6.6 (5.7, 7.3) | 0.57 | 0.09 (0.04, 0.13) | 0.88 | 0.41 (0.28, 0.54) | 0.01 | 1165 (1009, 1429) | 0.87 | 5.7 (4.4, 7.4) | 0.30 | 13.6 (9.3, 21.6) | 0.65 |
| Yes | 5 (5.1) | 6.5 (6.5, 6.8) | 0.06 (0.04, 0.11) | 0.76 (0.39, 1.2) | 1160 (1049, 1208) | 7.9 (6.4, 8.9) | 13.0 (12.5, 24.3) | ||||||
| Fuel station6 | |||||||||||||
| No | 89 (89.9) | 6.6 (5.7, 7.3) | 0.97 | 0.08 (0.04, 0.13) | 0.71 | 0.42 (0.27, 0.55) | 0.37 | 1171 (1038, 1429) | 0.88 | 5.8 (4.5, 7.7) | 0.70 | 14.7 (9.7, 24.1) | 0.12 |
| Yes | 10 (10.1) | 6.7 (6.0, 7.3) | 0.10 (0.02, 0.13) | 0.39 (0.35, 0.45) | 1055 (965, 1260) | 4.7 (3.9, 6.6) | 9.6 (8.6, 12.9) | ||||||
| Child’s School | |||||||||||||
| Attends school? | |||||||||||||
| No | 84 (84.0) | 6.6 (6.8, 7.3) | 0.64 | 0.08 (0.03, 0.12) | < 0.01 | 0.42 (0.29, 0.54) | 0.37 | 1206 (1030, 1437) | 0.93 | 5.8 (4.4, 7.3) | 0.15 | 13.6 (9.4, 23.8) | 0.94 |
| Yes | 16 (16.0) | 6.4 (5.2, 6.9) | 0.12 (0.08, 0.20) | 0.40 (0.27, 0.51) | 1100 (1018, 1232) | 6.9 (4.9, 9.7) | 12.9 (8.5, 24.6) | ||||||
| Cigarettes | |||||||||||||
| Smoke in home6 | |||||||||||||
| No | 83 (83.8) | 6.6 (5.8, 7.4) | 0.25 | 0.08 (0.03, 0.13) | 0.31 | 0.41 (0.28, 0.58) | 0.77 | 1195 (1009, 1429) | 0.69 | 5.8 (4.4, 7.7) | 0.34 | 13.5 (9.4, 20.9) | 0.94 |
| Yes | 16 (16.2) | 6.3 (5.3, 6.8) | 0.08 (0.06, 0.13) | 0.43 (0.30, 0.50) | 1124 (1041, 1429) | 6.0 (4.9, 7.7) | 15.0 (8.3, 26.6) | ||||||
1Median blood metal values by potential environmental determinant in 100 Ugandan children living in Katanga urban settlement enrolled in a cross-sectional survey; 2P-value for dichotomous comparisons and from ANOVA for comparisons among three groups, with Tukey’s test for post-hoc pairwise comparisons. All metals were log-transformed before parametric analysis; 3n = 96; 4n = 94; 5n = 77; 6n = 99