Trace element analysis of hair, nail, serum and urine of diabetes mellitus patients by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy

Background: Trace elements play important roles in carbohydrates and lipids metabolism. According to some studies, trace elements concentrations are different in serum and urine of diabetic and healthy population. In this work, for the first time six trace elements (Zn, Cu, Mg, Mn, Cr, Se) concentration of scalp hair, nail, urine and serum of diabetes mellitus patients and control group were analyzed at the same time. Due to the very low concentration of some trace elements (e.g. Cr, Se), measurements were carried out by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Methods: In this study diabetic patients (n=150) and healthy control (n=151) were enrolled in Tehran University of Medical Sciences Hospital. Their biological samples (scalp hair, nail, urine and serum) were analyzed by ICP-AES. Results: In serum samples zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu) and chromium (Cr) concentration of diabetic patients and control group were significant (p<0.05). In urine Zn, Mg, Se, and Mn had significant difference (p<0.05). In hair difference between amount of Zn, Mn and Cr in diabetic patients and control group were significant (p<0.05). The difference in Zn, Se and Cr content of nail were significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The obtained results showed that scalp hair and nail samples are the best biological samples for trace element analysis especially in case of Cr, Se, and Mn due to the high accumulation of these elements in hair and nail which causes a better detection.