Concentrations of trace elements in sera of newborns, young infants, and adults

Concentrations of trace elements in newborns, infants, and adults may be si gnificantly different from each other. Serum trace element reference ranges for different age groups are of value for diagnostic purposes. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was applied to the determination of the 2 1 trace elements Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cs, Cu, La, Li, Hg, Mg, Mn, Mo, Pb , Rb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Tl, and Zn in a total of 117 sera of individuals represen ting different age groups. After microwave-assisted acid digestion with hig h-purity reagents, 20 umbilical cord sera, 5 sera of fully breast-fed infan ts, 6 sera of formula-fed infants, 66 sera of patients suffering internal d iseases, and 20 sera of healthy blood donors were analyzed for trace elemen ts. One serum and two whole-blood reference materials were analyzed for qua lity control. Experimental concentrations were in good agreement with certi fied values. Umbilical cord serum concentrations of the essential elements Ca, Co, Cu, and Mg and of the nonessential and toxic elements Ba, Be, Li, P b, and Sb were elevated compared to the elemental concentrations in the ser a of infants and adults. Serum levels of Ba, Ca, Co, Mn, Pb, and Sb of infa nts were much higher and serum Cu was significantly lower than in adults. S erum Cu increased significantly with age (newborns: 353 mu g/L; infants: 75 5 mu g/L; healthy adults: 810 mu g/L), whereas for other trace elements no age-dependence could be established.