Open AccessReference Intervals of and Relationships among Essential Trace Elements in Whole Blood of Children Aged 0–14 years
Author(s) -
Zhai Rongrong,
Zhang Meichun,
Liu Jie,
Guang Hui,
Li Benzhong,
Chen Dong,
Zhang Songtao
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.22043
Subject(s) - confounding , reference values , chemistry , confidence interval , age groups , zoology , medicine , demography , biology , sociology
Background Essential trace elements are vital to human health. In this study, our aim was to establish reference intervals of and to evaluate relationships among Ca, Fe, Cu, Mg, and Zn for children. Methods We collected blood samples of 3210 children aged 0–14 years from Lu'an, China, and concentrations of the above elements were determined by atomizer absorption spectrophotometer. A nonparametric method was used to establish the reference intervals. Results Gender‐related differences in concentrations were not statistically significant for the elements, except for Fe. There were strong positive and negative correlations between age and Fe ( R = 0.305, P < 0.001), Zn ( R = 0.573, P < 0.001); and age and Ca ( R = −0.372, P < 0.001), Cu ( R = −0.127, P < 0.001), respectively. Correlations between Ca‐Mg ( r = 0.222~0.384, P < 0.001), Fe‐Mg ( r = 0.495~0.614, P < 0.001), and Fe‐Zn ( r = 0.239~0.471, P < 0.001) were the strongest compared with others. In multivariable linear regression, after adjusted for confounding factors, the associations between Zn‐Fe and Mg‐Fe were the strongest with per concentration quintile increase of Fe caused Zn and Mg increasing by 4.19% (β = 0.041; 95% CI : 0.037, 0.045; P < 0.001) and 3.87% (β = 0.038; 95% CI : 0.036, 0.040; P < 0.001), respectively. Conclusions Gender‐ and age‐based reference intervals of Ca, Fe, Cu, Mg, and Zn for children were established, and correlations between them were quite complex. More works are needed to illuminate these relationships and their impacts on children's health.