Inverse Relationship between Urinary Retinol-Binding Protein, Beta-2- Microglobulin, and Blood Manganese Levels in School-Age Children from an E-Waste Recycling Town - Environmental Contamination: Health Risks and Ecological Restoration - page 185

biomarkers.are.generally.accepted.as.valid.tests.for.renal.damage.induced.
by.environment.chemicals.in.humans.(Bernard.and.Hermans.1997).
Children. are. considered. more. vulnerable. than. adults. to. biochemically.
toxic. agents. because. they. absorb. more. as. a. proportion. of. body. mass. and.
because.of.their.more.rapid.biological.growth.and.development.(Mielzynska.
et.al..2006).
We.used.urinary.β 2 -MG.and.RBP.as.markers.of.tubular.effects..This.study.
assessed.the.possibility.of.relationship.between.MnB.and.sensitive.markers.
of.tubular.dysfunction.in.school-age.children..To.our.knowledge,.no.previ-
ous.studies.have.investigated.the.impact.of.Mn.on.the.renal.tubular.function.
of.school-age.children.from.e-waste.recycle.site.
MaterialsandMethods
Study Areas
Guiyu.is.one.of.the.largest.e-waste.recycling.sites.in.the.world,.with.a.total.
area. of. 52.km 2 . and.a. population. of. 150,000.. Nearly. 60%-80%.of.families.in.
Guiyu.are.engaged.in.the.business.of.processing.e-waste..We.used.Liangying.
town,.where. the.population,. trafic.density,.lifestyle,.socioeconomic.status,.
and. geographic. location. were. similar. to. those. of. Guiyu,. as. a. control.. In.
Liangying,.the.local.residents'.work.is.mainly.clothing.manufacturing.and.
is.not.related.to.e-waste.processing.
Study Population
A.total.of.130.school-age.children,.aged.8-14.years,.took.part.in.this.study..
Sixty-one.children.(33.females.and.28.males).with.an.average.age.of.9.6.years.
living. in. Nanyang. village. of. Guiyu. were. selected. as. participants,. and. 69.
children. (28. females. and. 41. males). with. an. average. age. of. 10.5. years. from.
Liangying.served.as.control.
Children. were. recruited. on. a. volunteer. basis. with. the. consent. of. their.
parents.. No. children. involved. in. this. study. had. any. occupational. expo-
sure. to. e-waste.. All. parents. completed. a. self-administered. questionnaire.
form. including. items. concerning. children's. demographic. variables. (age,.
gender).and.health.status.(past.and.present.diseases,.including.chronic.dis-
eases)..According.to.their.self-reports,.there.were.no.children.suffering.from.
renal. disease. or. diabetes.. The. study. was. approved. by. the. Human. Ethics.
Committee.of.Shantou.University.Medical.College.
Evaluation of Physical Development Indices
Children's. physical. growth. and. development,. such. as. height. and. weight,.
were. measured. before. blood. samples. were. collected.. Weight. and. height.