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During the early months of life, infant formula plays a crucial role as a primary source of both food and essential nutrients for infants, serving as a replacement for or supplement to breast milk. However, nonessential metals in infant formulas are a concern because infants are highly vulnerable to chemical exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate infant exposure to nonessential metals in infant formula products in Taiwan and assess the associated health risks. In this study, concentrations of arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and vanadium (V) in 45 formula products for 0-1-year-old infants were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The mean As, Ba, Cd, Mn, Pb, and V concentrations were 6.42, 280, 3.72, 1425, 20.4, and 21.9 µg/kg, respectively. According to our probabilistic simulation of the estimated daily intake of metals, the proportion of hazard quotients exceeding one was 7.69% for As and 3.29% for Mn, and that of hazard index (HI) values exceeding 1 was >17% for metals. Arsenic had the largest HI contribution (46.9%), followed by Mn (22.3%) and Pb (12.7%). The nonessential metals content in infant formula raises potential noncarcinogenic health concerns for infants in Taiwan. Therefore, regulations for nonessential metals must be imposed on related food products in Taiwan, with a particular focus on As and Mn., (© 2024 Institute of Food Technologists.)

Exposure to a single metal has been reported to damage renal function in humans. However, information regarding the association between multiple-metal exposure and markers for early renal impairment in different sexes among the young adult Taiwanese population is scarce. We assessed the association between exposure to arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb), and early renal impairment markers using urinary microalbumin (MA), β2-microglobulin (β2MG), and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) by analyzing 157 young adults aged 20‒29 years, in Taiwan. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine urinary As, Cd, and Pb levels. Regression models were applied to different sex groups. The results showed that after adjusting for potential confounding factors and each metal, urinary Cd levels were significantly positively associated with urinary MA (β = 0.523, 95% CI: 0.147-0.899) and β2MG (β = 1.502, 95% CI: 0.635-2.370) in males. However, the urinary Cd level was significantly positively associated with only urinary NAG (β = 0.161, 95% CI: 0.027-0.296) in females. This study thus indicates that the effect of exposure to metals (especially Cd) on early renal impairment among young adults in Taiwan is sex-specific. Our study results could contribute toward developing early intervention programs for decreasing the incidence of renal dysfunction. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings and clarify the potential mechanisms involved., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Prenatal and postnatal exposures to heavy metals have been suggested to interfere with neurodevelopment, but the neurotoxicity of lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the associations between the levels of As, Cd, and Pb and children's neurodevelopment. A total of 299 mother-infant pairs were recruited in this study and their meconium were collected. After three years, 53 children underwent the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III) examinations and provided hair and fingernail specimens. The levels of As, Cd, and Pb in the meconium, hair, and fingernail were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; the median levels were the following: meconium, 42.7, 5.57, and 25.6 ng/g, respectively; hair, 0.19, 0.05, and 3.61 μg/g, respectively; and fingernail, 0.29, 0.04, and 0.84 μg/g, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, we found that the log-transformed levels of As in the hair samples was negatively associated with gross motor development (β =  - 0.032; 95% confidence interval: - 0.061 to - 0.004). We conclude that postnatal exposure to As is a crucial period for gross motor development in children, while the effects of Cd and Pb on neurodevelopment are less clear., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)