Effect of dietary patterns on the blood/urine concentration of the selected toxic metals (Cd, Hg, Pb) in Korean children

This study was aimed to examine the association the blood/urinary concentration of toxic metal (Hg, Pb, and Cd) with children’s dietary patterns. This cross-sectional study included 1026 school children aged 8–17 years. Dietary patterns were defined using factor loading scores for 108 foods from a Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. A high blood Hg level was found in boys with a high score in the ‘fish’ pattern ( p = 0.02), and in girls with a high score in ‘fruit’ pattern ( p = 0.04). The concentration of Pb was related to the ‘imprudent’ pattern in high school boys ( p = 0.02). The effect of the ‘vegetable’ pattern on high excretion of urinary Cd was observed in low grade elementary ( p = 0.04) and middle school students ( p