Laboratory Medicine ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (8): 742-750.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-8640.2025.08.004

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Correlation between short stature,tic disorders and mineral elements in whole blood

LÜ Na1, LI Fangning2, BAI Qi3, ZHAO Mingliang4, LI Youran1, CAO Yan1, ZHAI Yanhong1, LI Na2(), CAO Zheng1()   

  1. 1. Department of Clinical Laboratory,Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital,Capital Medical University,Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital,Beijing 100026,China
    2. Department of Clinical Laboratory,Shunyi Maternal and Children's Hospital of Beijing Children's Hospital,Beijing 101300,China
    3. Department of Child Health Care,Shunyi Maternal and Children's Hospital of Beijing Children's Hospital,Beijing 101300,China
    4. Department of Pediatrics,Shunyi Maternal and Children's Hospital of Beijing Children's Hospital,Beijing 101300,China
  • Received:2025-01-09 Revised:2025-04-25 Online:2025-08-30 Published:2025-08-28

Abstract:

Objective To establish reference intervals for 10 mineral elements (calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, selenium, zinc, mercury, lead and cadmium) in capillary whole blood of children aged 0-12 years in Beijing, and to investigate the relationship between these elements and short stature and tic disorders. Methods A total of 1 382 apparently healthy children undergoing physical examinations at Shunyi Maternal and Children's Hospital of Beijing Children's Hospital from July 2023 to April 2024 were enrolled. They were classified by genders and ages [infants/toddlers(≤2 years),preschool(3-5 years) and school-age(6-12 years)]. The levels of the 10 elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS),and corresponding reference intervals were established using the percentile method. Additionally,61 children with short stature(short stature group),78 children with tic disorders(tic disorder group) and 152 healthy children undergoing physical examinations during the same period(healthy control group) were enrolled. Venous blood samples from these groups were analyzed for the 10 elements using ICP-MS. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess influencing factors for the occurrence of short stature and tic disorders. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of each indicator for short stature and tic disorders. Results Statistically significant differences were observed between boys and girls for manganese,copper,lead and cadmium levels(P<0.05),while no statistically significant differences were found for the other elements(P>0.05). Gender- and age-specific reference intervals were established for manganese,copper,lead and cadmium. Age-specific reference intervals were established for calcium,magnesium,iron,selenium,zinc and mercury. Cadmium,mercury,and lead levels in short stature group were higher than those in healthy control group(P<0.05). Calcium levels in tic disorder group were lower than those in healthy control group,while zinc,mercury and lead levels were higher(P<0.05). Elevated mercury and lead levels were identified as independent risk factors for short stature(P<0.05). The areas under curves(AUC) for diagnosing short stature using mercury,lead and their combined determination were 0.590,0.721 and 0.746,respectively. Elevated cadmium,mercury and lead levels were identified as independent risk factors for tic disorders(P<0.05). The AUC for diagnosing tic disorders using cadmium,mercury,lead and their combined determination were 0.524,0.585,0.591 and 0.665,respectively. Conclusions The reference intervals for calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, selenium, zinc, mercury, lead and cadmium have been established in capillary whole blood of children in Beijing, which are stratified by gender and age groups using ICP-MS. Both short stature and tic disorders show carrelations with the levels of certain mineral elements.

Key words: Mineral element, Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Reference interval, Short stature, Tic disorder, Children, Beijing

CLC Number: