Abstract

Copper, an essential trace element for health, plays various biological roles in human body. Serum copper reference values are important for assessing copper associated abnormalities and the prevalence of copper deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine reference range of copper in adult population of Lahore. Serum copper concentration was measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry in 450 healthy adults aged 20 to 29 years, which were randomly selected. After application of exclusion criteria reference values were determined in apparently healthy subjects according to guidelines of International Federation of Clinical Chemistry. Reference value for serum copper concentration ranged between 4.72µmol/L to 31.48µmol/L (mean 17.62 µmol/L ±6.67). The mean serum copper level for males was 18.57µmol/L ± 6.61. The value for male subjects ranged between 4.72µmol/L to 31.7µmol/L. The mean serum copper level in females being 16.52µmol/L ± 6.67. Similarly, the values for females range between 4.72 µmol/L to 30.48µmol/L. In conclusion this study presents reference values for serum copper concentration in adult population of Lahore. The results here shows that there is significant difference in serum level of copper among different countries. This difference may be due to racial and genetic difference, dietary habits and socioeconomic and analytical variables.

Keywords: copper · reference value · atomic absorption spectrometry · population

References

  1. 1.Goldbeck-Wood S, Dorozynski A, Lie LG, Kučera J, Benckob V, Sabbionic E, Van der Venne MT. Review of trace elements in blood, serum and urine for the Czech and Slovak populations and critical evaluation of their possible use as reference values. Science of the total environment. 1995; 166(1): 211-34.
  2. 2.Ashavaid TF, Todur SP, Dherail AJ. Establishment of reference intervals in Indian population. Indian J Clin Biochem. 2005; 20(2): 110–18
  3. 3.Mansoor R, Saadat A, Khan FA, Sattar A, Iqbal A. Reference values for serum calcium. Pak J Pathol 2004;15(2):49-53.
  4. 4.Lux O, Naidoo D. The assessment of biological variation components of copper, zinc, and selenium. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 1995; 6(1): 43-7.
  5. 5.Rahil-Khazen R, Bolann JB, Ulvik JR. Trace elements reference values in serum determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2000;38(8):765-72
  6. 6.Marjani A, Mojerloo M, Mansorian AR, Golalipour MJ. Serum Zinc and Copper level before and after haemodialysis. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal. 2005; 8(1);71-75
  7. 7.How to define and determine reference intervals in the clinical laboratory: approved guidelines, NCCLS document C28-A2. 2001; 20(13) http://www.nccls.org/
  8. 8.Trujillano J, Muiño JM, March J, Sorribas A. A more flexible parametric estimation of univariate reference intervals: A new method based on the GS-distribution. Clin Chim Acta. 2007;379(1-2):71-80
  9. 9.Al-Sayer H, Al-Bader A, Khoursheed M, Asfar S, Hussain T, Behbehani AI, Mathew Reference Range for Copper in Adult Population, Warda Hussain et al. 33 ORIGINAL ARTICLE A, Dashti H. Serum values of copper, zinc and selenium in adults resident in Kuwait. Med Principles Pract. 2000; 9:139–146
  10. 10.Rahman S, Khalid N, Ahmad S, Ullah N, Iqbal ZM. Essential trace metals in human whole blood in relation to environment. Pakistan J. Med. Res. 2004; 43(2):46-51
  11. 11.Manser WW, Khan MA. Trace elements studies on Karachi population, part 1: Normal ranges for blood copper, zinc and magnesium for adults. J Pak Med Assoc 1989; 39(2):43-9
  12. 12.National standards for drinking water quality. Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak EPA). Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. 2008. Pak, E. http://scholar.google.com.pk/scholar?q=Nat ional+Standards+for+Drinking+Water+Qua lity+in+pakistan&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0 %2C5&as_ylo=2008&as_yhi=2008
  13. 13.Ali SFA, Imtiaz N, Mehdi SU, Asif M. Determination of Copper Concentration in Human Blood Serum by Using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS). Paper presented at: International Conference on Chemical Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences (ICCEPS'2012) April 13-15, 2012 Pattaya
  14. 14.Khan MA, Ahmad I, Inayat ur Rahman. Effect of environmental pollution on heavy metals content of Withania somnifera. Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society. 2007;54:339-343
  15. 15.Parizadeh RMS, Kazemi-Bajestani RMS, Moghaddam SA, Mobarhan GM, Esmaeili H, Majidi RM, Emadzadeh A, Safarian M, Nezhad AM, Khodaei HG, Hosseini JS, Parizadeh JMS, Oladi RM, Ferns G. Serum zinc and copper concentrations and socioeconomic status in a large Persian cohort. Asian Biomedicine. 2011; 5 (3): 329-35 MAJMAAH J. HEALTH SCIENCES, 2013 – Vol. 1, No. 2
  16. 16.Guidotti TL, McNamara J, Moses MS. The interpretation of trace element analysis in body fluids. Indian J Med Res. 2008 Oct; 128(4):524-32 .
  17. 17.Lattemann S, Höpner T. Environmental impact and impact assessment of seawater desalination. Desalination. 2008; 220(13):1–15
  18. 18.Shang S, Hong W. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry using a microvolume injection technique for the determination of Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg and Fe in whole blood from healthy infant and mother ears. Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry. 1997; 357(7): 997-99
  19. 19.Minoia C, Sabbioni E, Apostoli P, Pietra R, Pozzoli L, Gallorini M, Nicolaou G, Alessio L, Capodaglio E. Trace elements reference values in tissues from inhabitants of the European community I. A study of 46 elements in urine, blood and serum of Italian subjects. Sci Total Environ. 1990;95: 89-105
  20. 20.Khan AH, Khaliquzzaman M, Zaman MB, Husain M, Abdullah M, Akhter S. Trace element composition of blood in adult population in Bangladesh. Journal of Radioanalytical Chemistry. 1980; 57(1):157-167
  21. 21.Satoh Y, Yazawa A. Contents of heavy metals in the blood of inhabitants in Yokohama city in Japan. Yokohama E., Ken Nenpo. 1978;17: 63-66. Reference Range for Copper in Adult Population, Warda Hussain et al. 34
Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences · eISSN 1658-8223 · Majmaah University · open access