Valores de referencia para plumbemia em uma populacao urbana do Sul do Brasil / Reference values for lead in blood in an urban population in southern Brazil

ABSTRACT

Objetive. To describe the reference values for lead in blood in an urban population in the city of Londrina, in the state of Paraná, Brasil. Materials and methods. The reference population was composed of 520 adult volunteers who were assessed from November 1994 to December 1996. Exclusion criteria were occupational exposure to lead, exposure through personal habits or practice, smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day, and living near indistrial plants or other places that use lead in the production processes. Also excluded were individuals with abnormal clical or laboratory results or with chonic diseases or cardiovascular disorders. Lead blood levels were determined using air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The detectable limit was 1.23ug/dL. After the analyses of lead in blood, the following values were determined minimum value, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum value; geometric mean, 95 confidence interval; experimental interval; and reference value. Results. The reference values for lead in blood ranger from 1.20ug/dL to 13.72ug/dL. The geometric mean was 5.5 ug/dL. Conclusions. In general, the values found in this study are lower than those that have been reported for other countries. Additional date should be gathered from Brazilian populations living in more-industrialized areas