Lead in saliva and its relationship to blood in the residents of Klity village in Thailand

Abstract

Lead concentrations in whole blood and saliva were examined in 16 females and 13 males living in Klity village, a highly contaminated area from lead mining, Thailand. The geometric mean for the lead content in the blood was 24.03 μg/dl (range 11.80-46.60 μg/dl) while the lead content in the saliva was 5.69 μg/dl (range 1.82-25.28 μg/dl). No significant differences were found between the concentrations of lead in blood and saliva in relation to the age of the subject. Males were found to have higher blood lead levels than females. The coefficient of correlation γ between salivary and blood lead levels was -0.025. Our data suggests that saliva is not suitable material for biological monitoring with respect to lead exposure.