ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1635236
Epidemiological Profile and Determinants of Whole Blood Heavy Metal Levels in Occupationally Exposed Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study in Hunan Province, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- 2Hunan Prevention and Treatment Institute for Occupational Diseases, Changsha, China
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Objective: This study aims to characterize current whole blood levels of heavy metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) among occupational populations in Hunan Province, China, and identify exposure determinants to inform health management strategies. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2,991 occupational workers. Demographic data, occupational exposure history, and lifestyle habits were collected. Whole blood samples were analyzed via atomic absorption spectrophotometry for Pb and Cd levels, and atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry for Hg and As concentrations. Multiple linear regression was used to identify exposure predictors, and K-means clustering to categorize exposure patterns. Results: Elevated exceedance rates were observed for all metals, with Hg showing the highest rate (17.39%). Significantly higher blood metal levels (P < 0.05) were associated with males, age > 50 years, employment duration > 20 years, mining occupations, residence in Chang-Zhu-Tan, smoking, and drinking. Regression analyses revealed gender, age, employment duration, occupation type, and smoking as significant predictors of Pb and Cd levels (P < 0.05); gender, age, employment duration, and drinking for Hg (P < 0.05); and gender, age, employment duration, occupation type, and geographic region for As (P < 0.05). K-means clustering stratified participants into low-, medium-, and high-exposure groups, with the latter exhibiting markedly elevated metal levels (P < 0.05), including some samples exceeding occupational exposure limits. Conclusion: Whole blood heavy metal levels in Hunan occupational populations are significantly influenced by gender, age, employment duration, occupation type, and geographic factors. Targeted exposure mitigation and enhanced biomonitoring are urgently needed for high-risk subgroups.
Keywords: heavy metal exposure, occupationally exposed populations, exposure determinants, Hunan Province, Influencing factors
Received: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wen, Zhou, Zhu and Mei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yong Mei, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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