Table 1
Number of heavy metals above public health cut-off levels in the pregnant Surinamese women included in the current study, the heavy metal combinations, and the number of women with a blood metal level combination (n = 380).
| NUMBER OF HEAVY METALS ABOVE PUBLIC HEALTH CUT-OFF LEVELS | HEAVY METAL COMBINATIONS | NUMBER OF WOMEN (% OF TOTAL) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Hg Low| Mn Low| Pb Low | 70 (18.4%) |
| 1 | Hg High| Mn Low| Pb Low | 37 (9.7%) |
| Hg Low| Mn High| Pb Low | 131 (34.5%) | |
| Hg Low| Mn Low| Pb High | 6 (1.6%) | |
| 2 | Hg High| Mn High| Pb Low | 61 (16.1%) |
| Hg High| Mn Low| Pb High | 24 (6.3%) | |
| Hg Low| Mn High| Pb High | 19 (5.0%) | |
| 3 | Hg High| Mn High| Pb High | 32 (8.4%) |
Table 2
Distribution of maternal characteristics in the study population (n = 380).
| CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN EXPOSED TO HEAVY METAL MIXTURES | NUMBER OF WOMEN (% OF TOTAL) |
|---|---|
| Residing in the urban region | 251 (66.1%) |
| Residing in the rural (coastal and interior) region | 129 (33.9%) |
| Consumption of fish, leafy vegetables, and three or more staple food | 356 (94.9%) |
| Aged 16–34 years | 322 (84.7%) |
| Aged 35 years and older | 58 (15.3%) |
| Primary or no formal education | 66 (17.5%) |
| Secondary or tertiary education | 312 (82.5%) |
| Household income < USD 75 | 112 (31.2%) |
| Household income ≥ USD 75 | 247 (68.8%) |
Table 3
Associations between maternal characteristics and heavy metals combination (N = 380).
| CHARACTERISTICS | BLOOD METAL COMBINATIONS | χ2- TEST RESULT* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 ≥ PUBLIC HEALTH LEVEL | 1 ≥ PUBLIC HEALTH LEVEL | 2 OR 3 ≥ PUBLIC HEALTH LEVEL | TOTAL | ||
| NUMBER (%) | NUMBER (%) | NUMBER (%) | NUMBER (%) | ||
| Region of Residence | |||||
| Urban | 57 (22.7%) | 121 (48.2%) | 73 (29.1%) | 251 (100%) | 17.681, p < 0.001 |
| Rural (coastal and interior) | 13 (10.1%) | 53 (41.1%) | 63 (48.8%) | 129 (100%) | |
| Dietary habits | |||||
| Consumption of fish, leafy vegetables, and 3 or more types of staple food | 66 (21.0%) | 161 (45.2%) | 129 (36.2%) | 356 (100%) | 0.300, p = 0.908 |
| Else | 4 (18.5%) | 9 (47.4%) | 6 (31.6%) | 19 (100%) | |
| Maternal age at delivery | |||||
| 16–34 years | 57(17.7%) | 153(47.5%) | 112 (34.8%) | 322 (100%) | 2.696, p = 0.253 |
| 35 years and older | 13 (22.4%) | 21 (36.2%) | 24 (41.4%) | 58 (100%) | |
| Educational level | |||||
| Primary or no education | 1(1.5%) | 17(25.8%) | 48(72.7%) | 66(100%) | 50.579, p < 0.001 |
| Secondary or Tertiary | 69(22.1%) | 156(50.0%) | 87(27.9%) | 312(100%) | |
| Household income(USD) | |||||
| <75 | 13(11.6%) | 42(37.5%) | 57(50.9%) | 112(10%) | 15.348, p < 0.001 |
| > = 75 | 51(20.6%) | 123(49.8%) | 73(29.6%) | 247(100%) | |
[i] * Fisher’s exact test, p < 0.05, is considered significant.
Table 4
Relative risk (95% CI)) of risk factors (region of residence, and household income) for 2 or 3 blood metal combinations above public health levels in pregnant women.
| DETERMINANTS | BLOOD METAL COMBINATIONS | TOTAL | RELATIVE RISK (95% CI) | χ2- TEST RESULT* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 OR 3 ≥ PUBLIC HEALTH LEVEL | 0 ≥ PUBLIC HEALTH LEVEL | ||||||
| NUMBER | % | NUMBER | % | ||||
| Region of residence | |||||||
| Rural (coastal and interior) | 63 | 82.9% | 13 | 17.1% | 76 | 1.48 (1.23 – 1.77) | 17.691, p < 0.001 |
| Urban | 73 | 56.2% | 57 | 43.8% | 130 | 1 (reference) | |
| Household income(USD) | |||||||
| <75 | 57 | 81.4% | 13 | 18.6% | 70 | 1.38 (1.15 – 1.66) | 15.348, p < 0.001 |
| > = 75 | 73 | 58.9% | 51 | 41.1% | 124 | 1 (reference) | |
[i] * Fisher’s exact test, p < 0.05, is considered significant.