Comparison of Blood Lead Levels Between Oral and Inhalation Opium Addicts and its Relationship with Hematological Parameters Shafikhani Ali Akbar1, Kazemifar Amir Mohammad2,* 1Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2Associate Professor in Clinical Toxicologist, Department of Clinical Toxicologist, Faculty of Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran *Corresponding author: Amir Mohammad Kazemifar, Metabolic Disease Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences
Online published on 8 February, 2019. Abstract Background and objectives The current study aimed at comparing the level of blood Pb in oral and inhalation opium addicts and its relationship with hematological parameters. Materials and method For this purpose, a total of 166 patients (83 addicts as the case and 83 non-addicts as the control groups) were enrolled in the study. A venous blood sample was taken from all the subjects in order to determine the serum level of Pb, iron (Fe), and other hematological parameters. In addition, the clinical and demographic status of the subjects were recorded and analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Results Among the enrolled patients, 48 were oral and 35 were the inhalation opium consumers. Oral and inhalation opium addict groups had higher levels of blood Pb compared with the control group (F = 131.13, P <0.001). There was no significant difference between oral and inhalation addict groups (P >0.05). More investigations showed a negative relationship between the blood levels of Pb, and those of Fe, hemoglobin(HB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and positive relationship with red cell distribution width (RDW) (P >0.05). Conclusion The results showed that the serum level of Pb was associated with those of Fe and Hb in opium addicts in comparison with the controls. These changes had a significant effect on other hematological parameters in the case group in comparison with the control group. However, there was no significant relationship between different forms of opium use. Top Keywords Anemia, blood lead level, opium dependent, Addict, hematological parameters. Top |