Table 2.
Exposure levels of toxic and essential trace elements in the maternal blood, cord blood and placenta
| Elements | N | Median | 25th–75th percentile | Min | Max | < LODb (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal blood (ng mL−1) | As | 649 | 4.06 | 2.68–6.81 | < 0.30b | 17.64 | 2.3 |
| Bi | 649 | 0.02b | 0.02b–0.02b | < 0.02b | 2.51 | 92.6 | |
| Cd | 649 | 1.18 | 0.74–1.79 | < 0.10b | 11.23 | 5.4 | |
| Cu | 649 | 1289.2 | 1155.9–1449.1 | 501.5 | 2677.5 | 0 | |
| Pb | 649 | 10.83 | 8.65–13.50 | 3.10 | 70.24 | 0 | |
| Sb | 649 | 0.20 | 0.06b–0.40 | < 0.06b | 7.99 | 31.4 | |
| Se | 649 | 176.4 | 155.1–196.7 | 93.3 | 416.3 | 0 | |
| Sn | 649 | 0.20b | 0.20b–0.38 | < 0.20b | 7.95 | 55.6 | |
| THga | 650 | 5.42 | 3.89–7.59 | 0.61 | 25.19 | 0 | |
| MeHga | 645 | 5.15 | 3.68–7.15 | 0.60 | 24.99 | 0 | |
| IHga | 645 | 0.24 | 0.09–0.43 | < 0.01 | 1.61 | ||
| Zn | 649 | 4769.0 | 4146.7–5417.8 | 2707.2 | 14,416.6 | 0 | |
| Cord blood (ng mL−1) | As | 594 | 3.68 | 2.58–5.25 | < 0.30b | 22.41 | 0.5 |
| Bi | 594 | 0.02b | 0.02b–0.02b | < 0.02b | 1.87 | 82.0 | |
| Cd | 594 | 0.53 | 0.10b–1.25 | < 0.10b | 10.52 | 26.4 | |
| Cu | 594 | 510.8 | 456.2–566.5 | 243.5 | 1429.8 | 0 | |
| Pb | 594 | 9.89 | 8.02–12.48 | 3.66 | 61.61 | 0 | |
| Sb | 594 | 0.39 | 0.06b–0.92 | < 0.06b | 6.40 | 28.3 | |
| Se | 594 | 191.4 | 166.5–219.0 | 73.9 | 376.2 | 0 | |
| Sn | 594 | 0.20b | 0.20b–0.38 | < 0.20b | 5.23 | 63.6 | |
| THga | 601 | 9.96 | 7.05–13.80 | 1.60 | 43.90 | 0 | |
| MeHga | 598 | 9.47 | 6.70–13.28 | 1.52 | 43.15 | 0 | |
| IHga | 598 | 0.27 | 0.10–0.63 | < 0.01 | 2.43 | ||
| Zn | 594 | 2002.9 | 1757.7–2352.2 | 1103.9 | 22,258.6 | 0 | |
| Placenta (ng g-wet-1) | As | 617 | 4.36 | 3.26–5.93 | 1.18 | 19.56 | 0 |
| Bi | 617 | 0.03b | 0.03b–0.04 | < 0.03b | 1.35 | 72.6 | |
| Cd | 617 | 16.95 | 12.97–22.72 | 3.52 | 51.49 | 0 | |
| Cu | 617 | 706.5 | 627.1–806.5 | 442.9 | 1419.3 | 0 | |
| Pb | 617 | 11.21 | 7.67–15.55 | 2.14 | 125.00 | 0 | |
| Sb | 617 | 0.24 | 0.10b–0.56 | < 0.10b | 33.43 | 37.8 | |
| Se | 617 | 295.3 | 265.0–331.9 | 172.4 | 503.5 | 0 | |
| Sn | 617 | 11.83 | 6.55–19.43 | < 0.30b | 197.56 | 1.9 | |
| THg | 617 | 12.60 | 9.31–16.47 | 1.98 | 52.44 | 0 | |
| Zn | 617 | 9101.4 | 8353.3–9917.1 | 6771.8 | 17,381.8 | 0 |
Copper, selenium and zinc concentrations were presented up to one decimal digit because of high concentration compared with other elemental concentrations
As arsenic, Bi bismuth, Cd cadmium, Cu copper, Pb lead, Sb antimony, Se selenium, Sn tin, THg total mercury, MeHg methylmercury, IHg inorganic mercury (IHg concentrations were calculated by subtracting MeHg from THg), Zn zinc
ang g−1
bLimit of detection (LOD)