Information about environmental exposure to melamine and renal injury in adults is lacking. We investigated this relationship in 44 workers at two melamine tableware manufacturing factories in Taiwan (16 manufacturers, eight grinders, ten packers, and ten administrators) and 105 nonexposed workers (controls) at one shipbuilding company who were enrolled in August-December of 2012. For melamine workers, personal and area air samples were obtained at the worksite over 1 workweek (Monday-Friday). In the same week, pre-and post-shift one-spot urine samples were collected each workday and one first-spot urine sample was collected on each weekend morning and the following Monday morning. For each control, a one-spot urine sample was collected on Friday morning. A blood sample was also obtained from each participant at this time. Melamine levels were measured in air, urine, and serum, and early renal injury biomarkers were measured in urine. Urinary melamine concentrations in manufacturers increased sharply between pre-and post-shift measurements on Monday, remained significantly elevated throughout the workweek, and decreased over the weekend; changes in urinary melamine concentrations were substantially lower for other melamine workers. Manufacturers were exposed to the highest concentrations of ambient melamine and had significantly higher urinary and serum melamine concentrations than did the controls (P,0.001). Urinary melamine levels were positively associated with urinary N-acetyl b-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) levels but not microalbumin levels, and the detectable b2-microglobulin rate increased in the manufacturers group. In conclusion, ambient melamine exposure may increase the levels of urinary biomarkers of renal tubular injury in this occupational setting.

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Rationale Melamine is ubiquitously present in our daily life. It has a known effect on the kidneys, but it may also adversely affect the reproduction system. We have developed an analytical method for measuring melamine levels in maternal placenta and correlated these levels with melamine concentrations in urine, a necessary step in finding out if melamine might cross the placenta and enter the circulation of the fetus. Methods We used liquid–liquid extraction, clean up by solid‐phase extraction (SPE), and isotope‐dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to measure melamine in placenta specimens. The results of this method were assessed for linearity, limits of quantitation (LOQs), and intra‐ and inter‐assay precision as well as accuracy, matrix effect, and recovery rate. Results Calibration curves indicated good linearity (r >0.995) over concentrations ranging from 5 to 500 ng/mL in placenta specimens, intra‐ and inter‐assay precision from 0.89% to 27.07%, and accuracy from 92.4% to123.5%. Recovery ranged from 63.9 to 83.9%, and the LOQ was 5 ng/mL in placenta (0.2 g). Placental melamine levels ranged from 7.87 to19.64 ng/mL, all detectable (n = 8). Pregnant women with higher levels of urinary melamine had higher placenta melamine levels than those with non‐detectable urinary melamine, though the results were not significantly different (p = 0.149, n = 4 in each group). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that pregnant women were exposed to low doses of melamine in their daily lives as measured in urine samples and placenta specimens. It is unclear whether placenta melamine concentrations can better represent long‐term exposure than urine or whether melamine in the uterus can enter the fetus via this route.

Besides age, the factors of BMI, hypertension, dyslipidemia, GPT, hyperuricemia, and proteinuria are the main risk factors for prediabetes in Taiwanese women without substance uses. A follow-up study is necessary to clarify the causality of these important biochemical parameters and prediabetes.

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