Correlation between blood lead level and anemia in hemodialysis patients

Introduction: Studies show that blood lead level (BLL) is higher in hemodialysis patients than in healthy people. Lead can disrupt iron metabolism and hemoglobin synthesis and therefore it is regarded as a cause of anemia. Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between BLL and anemia in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing maintenance hemodialysis Patients and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 70 patients who had received hemodialysis at least for three months. The participants were selected randomly among eligible patients considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Based on their hemoglobin levels, the participants were divided into two groups, namely patients with anemia (case) and those without anemia (control). Results: The mean age of the participants in the case and control groups were 63.8±11.02 and 55.4±13.34 years, respectively. There were significant differences between two groups regarding hemoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythropoietin (EPo) levels (P < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between hemoglobin and ferritin levels in the case group and between the length of dialysis and serum iron level in the control group without anemia (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results showed no correlation between BLL and anemia, however the BLL was higher in those undergoing long-term maintenance hemodialysis. Our findings require further investigation with larger studies.