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Changing Blood Lead Levels and Oxidative Stress with Duration of Residence Among Taiwan Immigrants

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Abstract

Immigrants lack appropriate health care access and other resources needed to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental health risks. Little is known about the impact of lead exposure and oxidative stress among immigrants. Thus, this study was to examine the differences between the blood lead levels (BLLs) and oxidative stress levels of immigrants and non-immigrants, and to investigate the determinants of increased BLLs or oxidative stress levels among immigrants. We collected demographic data of 239 immigrant women and 189 non-immigrant women who resettled in the central area of Taiwan. Each study participant provided blood samples for genotyping and for measuring blood metal levels and oxidative stress. Recent immigrants were at risk for elevated BLLs. Decreased BLLs, malondialdehyde (MDA), and increased blood selenium levels were significantly associated with duration of residence in Taiwan. Elevated BLLs and MDA in recent immigrants may serve as a warning sign for the health care system. The nation’s health will benefit from improved regulation of living environments, thereby improving the health of immigrants.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Council, Taipei, Taiwan (NSC 97-2314-B-039-016-MY2). The authors thank all the study participants and WC Shih, MJ Hong, SJ Lin, and the staff from the Public Health Center in central Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan

    Wei-Te Wu, Yu-Jen Lin, Saou-Hsing Liou & Trong-Neng Wu

  2. Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Chin-Ching Wu & Saou-Hsing Liou

  3. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Yang Shen

  4. Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Tsung-Yun Liu

  5. Institute of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Chun-Yuh Yang

  6. Graduate Institute of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, China Medical University, 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Trong-Neng Wu

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  1. Wei-Te Wu
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  2. Chin-Ching Wu
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  3. Yu-Jen Lin
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  6. Chun-Yuh Yang
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  7. Saou-Hsing Liou
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Correspondence to Trong-Neng Wu.

Additional information

W.-T. Wu and C.-C. Wu are co-first authors.

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Wu, WT., Wu, CC., Lin, YJ. et al. Changing Blood Lead Levels and Oxidative Stress with Duration of Residence Among Taiwan Immigrants. J Immigrant Minority Health 15, 1048–1056 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9820-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9820-x

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