Relation between porphyrin-metabolic disorders and some internal factors in lead-exposed subjects

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To elucidate the relationship between lead-induced porphyrin metabolic disorders and some internal factors, we first investigated whether the response of biological parameters such as plasma delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), urinary ALA,and urinary coproporphyrin (CP) differs between male and female workers occupationally exposed to lead.The biological samples (urine and blood) were obtained from about 300 lead workers (160 males and 138 females). The concentrations (mean<plus-minus>SD) of blood lead (males : 55<plus-minus>13 mug/dl ; females : 55<plus-minus>14mug/dl) indicated that the intensity of occupational exposure to lead was almost equal in the two groups. On the other hand, the elevation of plasma ALA concentration and the increased urine ALA and CP excretions among these lead workers were much higher in females than in males. This data confirms the finding of a sex difference in the biological effect of human expSecondly, we determined some biological parameters such as copper, zinc, vitamin E,beta-carotene, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the blood samples. However, we could not find significant relations between these parameters and the degree of porphyrin metabolic disorders in lead-exposed workers.