Environmental influences on the trace element content of teeth--implications for disease and nutritional status.

The aim of this study was to compare the trace element content of children's primary teeth from Uganda and the UK. The Ugandan teeth were from children living in an area where endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF), a cardiac disease, is prevalent. The latter has been putatively linked to insufficient magnesium intake and excess cerium exposure. Primary teeth were collected from 21 Ugandan and 27 UK children. The crowns and roots of the teeth were separated and the former digested and analysed for several major and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). In addition, the enamel and dentine of eight UK and seven Ugandan primary teeth were isolated via density separation and analysed as above. The data were assessed using non-parametric statistical tests. The Ugandan teeth contained significantly (P < 0.05) greater concentrations of strontium, barium, cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium and significantly less zinc than the UK teeth. No significant difference in the concentrations of aluminium, calcium, copper, magnesium, lead and uranium were found. Analysis of enamel and dentine demonstrated that the former was enriched with several elements including cerium. It is concluded, that the environment, influences the trace element content of primary teeth and this may be useful for monitoring nutritional status. With respect to a geochemical cause for EMF, there is no positive evidence that EMF in Uganda is associated with reduced magnesium and increased cerium uptake in primary teeth. This does not, however, exclude cerium from playing a role in the aetiology of EMF.

Postnatal anaemia: neglected problems and missed opportunities in Uganda.

Anaemia is a neglected disorder that affects a huge proportion of women, particularly in developing countries. In a cross-sectional study among 349 mothers attending child clinics in Tororo District, eastern Uganda, who had delivered within 12 months prior to the study, the magnitude and prevalence of anaemia, important risk factors for anaemia and the usefulness of clinical examination and patient history as a screening tool were determined. Approximately two-thirds (64.4%) of the women were anaemic, with 55 (15.8%) suffering from moderate to severe anaemia (Hb < 10.0 g/dl) and 169 (48.6%) with mild anaemia (10.0-11.9 g/dl). Five (1.4%) women suffered from severe anaemia (Hb < 7.0 g/dl). Only iron supplementation and excessive bleeding during or after delivery emerged as risk factors using multinominal regression modelling. Lack of iron supplementation was a factor for mild anaemia (odds ratio (OR) 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5-4.2), but not for moderate to severe anaemia. Excessive bleeding was a risk factor for moderate to severe anaemia (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.7), but not for mild anaemia. The sensitivity of using clinical signs to detect anaemia (hb < 12.0 g/dl) was relatively high (0.74; 95% CI 0.7-0.8), but with a low specificity (0.4; 95% CI 0.3-0.6). Although anaemia in postnatal women is widespread, the health care system had missed the opportunities to effectively address it, such as through the implementation of the WHO policy recommendation for iron and folic acid supplementation, improvement of obstetric services and, despite its imperfection, screening for anaemia using clinical signs.

A sampling and analytical methodology for dental trace element analysis.

The role of trace elements in human health and environmental pollution has developed into an extensive field of research. This study describes a sampling and analytical strategy to determine the trace element content of primary (deciduous) teeth and to assess their use in environmental health and nutrition studies. Exfoliated and extracted primary teeth were collected from 21 Ugandan and 27 UK children. The crown and root of the teeth were separated and the former digested and analysed for several elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The influence of country, tooth type, age and gender were statistically investigated in addition to within-person variation. A principal components analysis (PCA) was used to treat the data in a multivariate fashion and facilitated the moderation of outliers. The results demonstrated that country of origin has an important influence on the elemental composition of teeth and that tooth type should be controlled in these types of studies. Given such a restriction, the age and gender of the donor should have no effect and do not need to be controlled. In addition, where country of domicile, age and gender were controlled, the concentrations of most elements within a single tooth type were representative of an individual and therefore may be indicative of health status.