AGE-BASED AND SEX-BASED COMPARATIVE DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED METALS IN THE SCALP HAIR OF AN URBAN-POPULATION FROM 2 CITIES IN PAKISTAN

Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni in the scalp hair of male and female donors, with an age range of 6-60 years, were determined by ICP atomic emission spectroscopy. The donors were drawn from the densely populated city of Lahore and the relatively less-populated capital city of Islamabad for comparative evaluation of the metal levels in relation to age, sex and location. Linear regression analyses and correlation between paired metals indicated a positive correlation between Cu and Zn for both sexes (r > 0.600) and between Pb and Ni (r > 0.484) for males and females of Lahore. Metal concentrations varied between the two cities and the two sexes. The highest mean concentration was found for Zn at 180.5 mug g-1 for males and 202.4 mug g-1 for females from Lahore, while for counterparts from Islamabad the values were 105.2 mug g-1 and 206.6 mug g-1. Copper showed an identical mean concentration (20.8 mug g-1) in the hair of both males and females from Lahore; however, relatively lower mean concentrations (7.7 and 10.8 mug g-1) were observed for donors from Islamabad. Mean Pb concentrations in hair of male donors from Lahore and Islamabad were 9.4 and 7.0 mug g-1, respectively; in female groups the concentrations were 14.3 and 5.7 mug g-1, respectively. Ni showed the lowest concentration range (4.3-4.5 mug g-1) of all the four metals for subjects from Lahore, and this was higher than the corresponding range (2.0-3.2 mug g-1) for subjects from Islamabad. The findings are discussed in relation to the available data from the literature.