Accumulation of trace element content in the lungs of Sao Paulo city residents and its correlation to lifetime exposure to air pollution

Author(s)

dos Santos, Nathalia Villa ; Vieira, Carolina Leticia Zilli ; Saldiva, Paulo Hilario Nascimento ; De Andre, Carmen Diva Saldiva ; Mazzilli, Barbara Paci ; Andrade, Maria de Fatima ; Saueia, Catia Heloisa ; Saiki, Mitiko ; Veras, Mariana Matera ; Koutrakis, Petros

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 12, n. 1, p. 7-pg., 2022-06-30.

Abstract

Heavy metals are natural and essential elements of the environment and living beings, produced from natural (e.g. volcanic activity and cosmic ray-induced spallation) and anthropogenic processes (e.g. industrial and fossil fuel combustion). High-concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides are also originated from anthropogenic activities in urban and industrial areas. In this preliminary study, we analyzed the levels of heavy metals and Polonium-210 (Po-210) in lung tissues in autopsies from residents of the city of Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. In order to identify the link among sources of the heavy metals in lungs, factor analysis was performed. Of the first four factors, which explain 66% of the total variability, three were associated with vehicular sources. The fitting of a regression model with Po-210 as the response variable and with the four factors as explanatory variables, controlling for age, sex and tobacco, showed a significant association between the concentration of polonium and the first factor that is generated by catalysts and brakes (coefficient = 0.90, standard error = 0.33, p = 0.016). Our findings suggest an association between traffic-related trace metals and Po-210 in lung autopsies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/22793-0 - Alzheimer's Disease in the olfactory epithelium: correlation with the environment
• Grantee: Nathalia Villa dos Santos
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 13/21728-2 - The use of modern autopsy techniques to investigate human diseases (MODAU)
• Grantee: Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/03461-7 - Comparison of minimally invasive autopsy and conventional autopsy for post-mortem malignant neoplasm diagnosis
• Grantee: Lisie Tocci Justo Luvizutto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/23129-7 - Impact of long-term exposure to air pollution on myocardium ageing
• Grantee: Ana Paula Cremasco Takano
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral