The association of environmental fluoride, trace elements and urine fluoride in adults living in endemic fluorosis villages in Henan Province

Objective To analyze the relationship of environmental fluoride level, urine fluoride concentration and trace elements in adults living in endemic fluorosis villages. Methods Fluoride concentrations in drinking water, vegetables, crops, soils and urine were determined using fluorine ion selective electrode method. The concentrations of the Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) in drinking water and serum in adults were detected using the flames atom absorption method. Results The concentrations of fluoride in drinking water were 2.15 +/- 1.97mg/L, 0.46 +/- 0.05mg/L and 0.38 +/- 0.15mg/L in the endemic fluorosis villages (EFV), villages conducted defluoridation project (DFPV) and control villages (CV) respectively. The fluoride concentration in drinking water of EFV was significantly higher than that of CV and DFPV (P<0.05 respectively). The concentration of fluoride in the plough layer in the high fluoride village was higher compared with control villages (P<0.05). There were no statistical differences of fluoride concentrations in vegetables, grain and plow pan layer of soil among EFV, DFPV and CV (P>0.05). The concentrations of the fluoride in the urine were 2.50 +/- 1.50 mg/L, 1.42 +/- 0.97mg/L and 0.98 +/- 0.50 mg/L in adults from EFV, DFPV and CV respectively. There were statistical differences between any two of the three groups (P<0.05). There were no significant differences among the concentration of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in drinking water of EFV, DFPV and CV. There was negative correlation between blood Ca2+ and urine fluoride (r=-0.183, P=0.022). Conclusion Individuals who have higher urine fluoride level tend to have lower blood Ca2+ concentration. [Ruirui cui, Rupu yang, Liuxin cui. Yu Xi, Xuemin Cheng, Shihong Li, Liju Duan, Jiaxiang Hou, Jie Liu, Yue Ba. The association of environmental fluoride, trace elements and urine fluoride in adults living in endemic fluorosis villages in Henan province. Life Sci J 2012;9(3):638-642] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 89