Comparative study of the age and location dependence of some heavy metals in hair of residents from two cities in Nigeria

Abstract

The concentration of some heavy metals (lead, cadmium, zinc and copper) were determined in the scalp hair of children (aged between 1 and 15 years) and active adults (aged between 16 and 40 years) in two different cities in Nigeria. The levels of zinc were found to be higher in children than in adults population.  There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the two age groups. The levels of copper were all within the same range for the two age groups and irrespective of location. The levels of lead and cadmium were generally higher in adult than in children. However, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the average concentrations of lead and cadmium between the children and adult populations of the two cities. The regression analysis indicated a strong correlation (r=0.86) between zinc and copper. Lead and cadmium were correlated at r=0.19