TY - JOUR
T1 - Trace Elements in Tears
T2 - Comparison of Rural and Urban Populations Using Particle Induced X-ray Emission
AU - Girshevitz, Olga
AU - Cohen-Sinai, Noa
AU - Zahavi, Alon
AU - Vardizer, Yoav
AU - Fixler, Dror
AU - Goldenberg-Cohen, Nitza
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - We aimed to evaluate the types and concentrations of trace elements in tears of individuals living in urban and rural environments using particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and the possible association with exposure to air pollution and suggest a novel method for tear-based biomonitoring studies. This cross-sectional pilot study comprised 42 healthy subjects, 28 living in a rural area and 14 in an industrial city. Tears were collected with Schirmer paper and characterized by PIXE. Trace element concentrations from both eyes were averaged together with environmental pollution data. Main outcome measures were between-group differences in types and concentrations of trace elements in tears and comparison to environmental data. The rural group included 12/28 men, mean age 45.2 ± 14.8 years. The urban group consisted of 11/14 men of mean age 27 ± 5.9 years. Six rural and all urban were active smokers. Air pollution data showed more toxic elements in the rural environment. On PIXE analysis, chlorine, sodium, and potassium were found in similar concentrations in all samples. Normalizing to chlorine yielded higher values of aluminum, iron, copper, and titanium in the rural group; aluminum was found only in the rural group. The higher levels of certain trace elements in the rural group may, in part, be a consequence of exposure to specific environmental conditions. No direct association was found with air pollution data. PIXE is useful to analyze trace elements in tears, which might serve as a marker for individual exposure to environmental pollutants in biomonitoring studies.
AB - We aimed to evaluate the types and concentrations of trace elements in tears of individuals living in urban and rural environments using particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and the possible association with exposure to air pollution and suggest a novel method for tear-based biomonitoring studies. This cross-sectional pilot study comprised 42 healthy subjects, 28 living in a rural area and 14 in an industrial city. Tears were collected with Schirmer paper and characterized by PIXE. Trace element concentrations from both eyes were averaged together with environmental pollution data. Main outcome measures were between-group differences in types and concentrations of trace elements in tears and comparison to environmental data. The rural group included 12/28 men, mean age 45.2 ± 14.8 years. The urban group consisted of 11/14 men of mean age 27 ± 5.9 years. Six rural and all urban were active smokers. Air pollution data showed more toxic elements in the rural environment. On PIXE analysis, chlorine, sodium, and potassium were found in similar concentrations in all samples. Normalizing to chlorine yielded higher values of aluminum, iron, copper, and titanium in the rural group; aluminum was found only in the rural group. The higher levels of certain trace elements in the rural group may, in part, be a consequence of exposure to specific environmental conditions. No direct association was found with air pollution data. PIXE is useful to analyze trace elements in tears, which might serve as a marker for individual exposure to environmental pollutants in biomonitoring studies.
KW - Schirmer test
KW - environmental pollution
KW - particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE)
KW - tears
KW - trace elements
KW - urban vs. rural subjects
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140794073&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/jpm12101633
DO - 10.3390/jpm12101633
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C2 - 36294772
AN - SCOPUS:85140794073
SN - 2075-4426
VL - 12
JO - Journal of Personalized Medicine
JF - Journal of Personalized Medicine
IS - 10
M1 - 1633
ER -