Evaluation of School-Age Children's Intelligence Quotient and Their Chronic Exposure to Trace Elements in Ambient Air

Heba M Adly; Abdullah A Saati; Abdullah A Khafagy; Maher N Alandiyjany; Saleh A K Saleh

doi:10.7759/cureus.37532

Evaluation of School-Age Children's Intelligence Quotient and Their Chronic Exposure to Trace Elements in Ambient Air

Cureus. 2023 Apr 13;15(4):e37532. doi: 10.7759/cureus.37532. eCollection 2023 Apr.

Authors

Heba M Adly¹, Abdullah A Saati¹, Abdullah A Khafagy¹, Maher N Alandiyjany^{2

3}, Saleh A K Saleh^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Medicine and Pilgrims Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
³ Quality and Development Affairs, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, SAU.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
⁵ Oncology Diagnostic Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EGY.

Abstract

Background Children's exposure to different trace elements in their air, water, and food or even present in paints or toys can affect their intelligence quotient (IQ) score. However, this correlation needs to be analyzed and evaluated in different contexts. This study aimed to investigate the associations between airborne concentrations of lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As) and intellectual function in school-age children in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methodology Our cohort study aimed to explore the link between exposure to various trace elements in the surrounding air and the IQ scores of children residing in the vicinity of Makkah. We included 430 children in the study and collected information about demographic and lifestyle factors using a structured questionnaire. We employed a mini volume sampler (MiniVol, AirMetrics, Springfield, OR, USA) to collect 24-hour PM10 samples from five locations in Makkah, representing various residential areas with small-to-medium industrial activities and traffic load. We analyzed the samples for Pb, Mn, Cd, Cr, and As concentrations using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry with Perkin Elmer 7300 (Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA, USA). The combined impact of heavy metals on continuous outcomes was assessed using the Bayesian kernel machine regression model. Results The mean atmospheric concentrations of Pb, Mn, Cd, Cr, and As in summer were 0.093, 0.006, 0.36, 0.15, and 0.017 µg/m³, respectively, while in winter, they were 0.004, 0.003, 0.12, 0.006, and 0.01 µg/m³, respectively. The findings of our study revealed that children's IQ scores were independently associated with co-exposure to the five metals, namely, Pb, Mn, Cd, Cr, and As. Conclusions This study demonstrates a link between combined exposure to five heavy metals (Pb, Mn, Cd, Cr, and As) and children's IQ scores. Regularly evaluating trace elements in children's biological samples is crucial to comprehend their effects on cognitive growth. To explore the possible future health risks of multimetal exposures and their interaction effects, it is imperative to conduct additional studies that involve repeated biological measurements of metal concentrations.

Keywords: children; exposure; iq; public health program development; trace elements.