Determinazione di piombo e cadmio nel sangue e nel latte materno: Studio preliminare in donne residenti in Campania

In recent years, industrial development and motorization have allowed an increased concentration of heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, in the environment. The long-term exposureof pregnant women to such metals seems to cause disorders in the development and growth of the foetus. The aim of our study is to determine the concentrations of lead and cadmium in the blood and maternal milk of 52 women in the Campania region (36 of which come from urban areas and 16 from extra-urban areas), relating this to the outcomeof the pregnancy and its potential effects on the foetus. Fourteen women were smokers. At birth, the newborns' weight vacillated from 2650 to 4050. The passage of both metals to the mothers milk was evident and such passage is more important for cadmium. The value of lead in the blood resulted a little bit higher in urban samples than in those of extra-urban samples; whereas milk from urban patients contained a significantly higher quantity of lead than the extra-urban samples. Cadmium depends much less on the area of residence and suggests similar concentrations within the two groups. The concentrations of cadmium and lead in blood results were higher in women who have given birth to infants with inferior weight compared to the average. Smoking has not influenced the concentrations of cadmium in the blood or in the milk, whereas lead has been revealed to be closely correlated to smoking.