{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:26:48Z","timestamp":1789432008314,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,25]],"date-time":"2025-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748131200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation (SECIHTI)","award":["321542"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["321542"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Children constitute a population at risk from environmental exposure to trace elements. This study aimed to evaluate correlations between urinary and blood levels of multiple elements in school-aged children (5\u201312 years), assessing whether urine, a less invasive matrix, could complement or replace blood sampling. A pilot biomonitoring study was conducted, and 91 children provided urine and venous blood samples in which the levels of 17 contaminants (Al, As, Ba, Cs, Co, Cu, I, Pb, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, Sr, Te, Ti, and Zn) were assessed. Spearman correlation coefficients (rho) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed. Urinary and blood levels of arsenic (rho = 0.23, 95% CI 0.01\u20130.44), lead (rho = 0.43, 95% CI 0.24\u20130.61), and strontium (rho = 0.22, 95% CI 0.03\u20130.40) showed significant correlations. These findings suggest that urine sampling could serve as a practical alternative to blood collection for monitoring specific trace elements like lead in pediatric populations, particularly in large-scale studies where participant compliance is critical. However, modest correlations for other elements highlight the need for element-specific validation before adopting urine as a universal biomonitoring matrix. Future research should explore the pharmacokinetic and exposure-related factors driving these relationships to optimize non-invasive surveillance strategies for children\u2019s environmental health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics13060431","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,25]],"date-time":"2025-05-25T20:26:50Z","timestamp":1748204810000},"page":"431","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Screening and Correlation of Trace Elements in the Blood and Urine of School-Aged Children (5\u201312 Years): A Pilot Biomonitoring Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1905-3781","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arlette A.","family":"Camacho-delaCruz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda Civil, Universidad de Colima, Carretera Colima-Coquimatl\u00e1n km 9, Coquimatl\u00e1n 28400, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9614-4946","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oliver","family":"Mendoza-Cano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda Civil, Universidad de Colima, Carretera Colima-Coquimatl\u00e1n km 9, Coquimatl\u00e1n 28400, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8146-5667","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"X\u00f3chitl","family":"Trujillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biom\u00e9dicas, Universidad de Colima, Av. 25 de Julio 965, Colima 28045, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8515-0777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel","family":"Huerta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Biom\u00e9dicas, Universidad de Colima, Av. 25 de Julio 965, Colima 28045, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2883-4619","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M\u00f3nica","family":"R\u00edos-Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Colima, Av. Universidad 333, Colima 28040, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0044-9196","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irma Elizabeth","family":"Gonzalez-Curiel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Inmunotoxicolog\u00eda, Unidad Acad\u00e9mica de Ciencias Qu\u00edmicas, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Zacatecas, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara km 6, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agustin","family":"Lugo-Radillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SECIHTI\u2014Facultad de Medicina y Cirug\u00eda, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma Benito Ju\u00e1rez de Oaxaca, Ex Hacienda Aguilera S\/N, Carr. a San Felipe del Agua, Oaxaca 68020, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda Fernanda","family":"Romo-Garc\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Inmunotoxicolog\u00eda, Unidad Acad\u00e9mica de Ciencias Qu\u00edmicas, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Zacatecas, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara km 6, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-0788-4312","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Herguin Benjamin","family":"Cuevas-Arellano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Colima, Bernal D\u00edaz del Castillo 340, Colima 28045, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8198-5363","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1ngel Gabriel","family":"Hilerio-L\u00f3pez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Enfermer\u00eda, Universidad de Colima, Av. Universidad 333, Colima 28040, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5975-8682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ram\u00f3n","family":"Solano-Barajas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda Civil, Universidad de Colima, Carretera Colima-Coquimatl\u00e1n km 9, Coquimatl\u00e1n 28400, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5667-5179","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jaime Alberto","family":"Bricio-Barrios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Colima, Av. Universidad 333, Colima 28040, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juan Manuel","family":"Uribe-Ramos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda Civil, Universidad de Colima, Carretera Colima-Coquimatl\u00e1n km 9, Coquimatl\u00e1n 28400, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J. Francisco","family":"Ventura-Ram\u00edrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Secretar\u00eda T\u00e9cnica de la Rector\u00eda, Universidad de Colima, Av. Universidad 333, Colima 28040, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8121-7901","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alma Alejandra","family":"Solano-Mendoza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Medicina Interna, Hospital Civil de Guadalajara \u201cJuan I. 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