High iron accumulation in hair and nail of people living in iron affected areas of Assam, India

Human populace of Assam, India repeatedly exposed to high concentration of iron in groundwater results in adverse health effects like hemochromatosis, liver cirrhosis and siderosis. In the present study, human hair and nail analysis were carried out to establish a possible relationship between iron toxicity and its deposition among the residents. Nail and hair iron concentrations ranged from 28.2 to 1046μgg−1 (n=114) and 26.5–838 (n=108)μgg−1 levels, respectively, among all the study participants. The iron content of the groundwater (421–5340μgL−1) (n=64) used for drinking purposes was positively correlated with both nail (r=0.788, p