Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine whether antimony may be detected in the urine during infancy and early childhood and its association with passive exposure to tobacco smoke, as assessed by urinary cotinine.

DESIGN Analysis of spare aliquots of urine collected from infants participating in studies of respiratory function and passive smoking. Urinary antimony was assayed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy in 201 urine specimens collected at different ages throughout the first two years of life from 122 term and 26 preterm infants. Urinary cotinine was measured using gas liquid chromatography.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Urinary antimony concentrations.

RESULTS Absolute antimony concentrations varied widely between infants, being below the laboratory detection limit of 0.02 μg/l in 7% of samples, below 0.5 μg/l in 90.5%, and above the reference value of 1 μg/l reported for non-occupationally exposed UK populations in 4%. Creatinine standardised antimony values were unrelated to postnatal age or urinary cotinine concentrations and were highest in urine collected from preterm infants within 24 hours of birth (geometric mean (95% confidence interval): 2.3 ng/mg (1.5 to 3.4)).

CONCLUSION Although antimony is present at very low concentrations in urine during infancy and early childhood, the relevance to health is uncertain. The higher levels found in preterm infants may reflect prematurity or fetal assimilation of antimony. Tobacco is unlikely to be an important source of environmental exposure to antimony during infancy and early childhood.