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Human biomonitoring of essential and toxic trace elements (heavy metals and metalloids) in urine of children, teenagers, and young adults from a Central European Cohort in the Czech Republic

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 35, pages 730–745 (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Exposure to toxic trace elements, which include metals and metalloids, can induce adverse health effects, including life-threatening diseases. Conversely, essential trace elements are vital for bodily functions, yet their excessive (or inadequate) intake may pose health risks. Therefore, identifying levels and determinants of exposure to trace elements is crucial for safeguarding human health.

Methods

The present study analyzed urinary concentrations of 14 trace elements (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead, antimony, selenium, thallium, and zinc) and their exposure determinants in 711 individuals, spanning from children to young adults from a Central European population from the Czech Republic. Multivariate linear regression and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA were used to investigate exposure determinants. Estimates of 95th percentile concentrations and confidence intervals were carried out to establish reference values (RV95). The study also assessed the percentage of population exceeding health-based guidance values (GVs) to gauge health risks.

Results

Young adults showed elevated toxic element concentrations, whereas children exhibited higher concentrations of essential elements. Mercury concentrations were associated with both dental amalgam filling count and seafood intake; arsenic concentrations were associated with seafood, rice, and mushroom consumption. Mushroom consumption also influenced lead concentrations. Sex differences were found for cadmium, zinc, nickel, and cobalt. Between 17.9% and 25% of the participants exceeded recommended GV for arsenic, while 2.4% to 2.8% exceeded GV for cadmium. Only one participant exceeded the GV for mercury, and none exceeded GVs for chromium and thallium. Essential trace elements’ GVs were surpassed by 38% to 68.5% participants for zinc, 1.3% to 1.8% for molybdenum, and 0.2% to 0.3% for selenium.

Impact

The present study examines trace element exposure in a Central European population from the Czech Republic, unveiling elevated exposure levels of toxic elements in young adults and essential elements in children. It elucidates key determinants of trace element exposure, including dietary and lifestyle indicators as well as dental amalgam fillings. Additionally, the study establishes novel reference values and a comparison with established health-based human biomonitoring guidance values, which are crucial for public health decision-making. This comprehensive biomonitoring study provides essential data to inform public health policies and interventions.

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Fig. 1: PCA of logarithmic concentrations of the target trace elements in urine from children, teenagers, and young adults in the Czech Republic.
Fig. 2: Box and whisker plots illustrating SG-adjusted urine concentrations (in µg/l) of the selected trace elements in the urine samples of children (n = 121) (yellow), teenagers (n = 285) (blue), and young adults (n = 305) (green) in the Czech Republic.

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Data availability

Per RECETOX Institutional Review Board approval, the data that support the findings of this study are restricted for transmission to those outside the primary investigative team. Data sharing with investigators outside the team requires IRB approval. Requests may be submitted to Lenka Andrýsková, Ph.D. (lenka.andryskova@recetox.muni.cz).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Petra Stuchlík Fišerová for specific gravity measurements. We thank all collaborating field workers, laboratory and administrative personnel, and especially the cohort participants who invested their time and provided samples and information for this study.

Funding

Authors thank the Research Infrastructure RECETOX RI (No. LM2023069) and CETOCOEN EXCELLENCE (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_043/0009632) for a supportive background. The work was supported by the OP RDE – project CETOCOEN Plus (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000469) financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, Brno, Czech Republic

    Brij Mohan Sharma, Klára Komprdová, Katarína Lörinczová, Jan Kuta, Petra Přibylová, Martin Scheringer, Ludmila Šebejová, Pavel Piler, Martin Zvonař & Jana Klánová

  2. Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics (IBP), ETH Zürich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland

    Brij Mohan Sharma & Martin Scheringer

  3. Faculty of Sports Studies, Masaryk university, Kamenice 753/5, Brno, Czech Republic

    Martin Zvonař

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  1. Brij Mohan Sharma
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Contributions

Brij Mohan Sharma – Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing; Klára Komprdová – Investigation, Data curation, Visualization; Writing – review & editing; Supervision; Katarína Lörinczová – Data curation, Visualization; Writing – review & editing; Jan Kuta – Methodology, Formal analysis; Petra Přibylová – Methodology, Formal analysis; Martin Scheringer – Writing – review & editing, Supervision; Ludmila Šebejová – Resources, Data curation; Pavel Piler – Resources, Data curation; Martin Zvonař – Resources, Data curation; Jana Klánová – Resources, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing, Supervision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Klára Komprdová.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

The ongoing and completed cohort studies, from which the participants in the present study were selected, obtained ethics approval from the relevant ethics committees (EKV-2019-002, EKV-2019-046 and ELSPAC/EK/2/2019), and these cohort studies were conducted in compliance with both European and national legal and ethical requirements. All participants provided written, informed consent prior to participating.

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Sharma, B.M., Komprdová, K., Lörinczová, K. et al. Human biomonitoring of essential and toxic trace elements (heavy metals and metalloids) in urine of children, teenagers, and young adults from a Central European Cohort in the Czech Republic. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 35, 730–745 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-024-00724-4

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