Association of Chemical Hair Content With Nutritional Characteristics in First Grade Pfur Students

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship of the content of chemical elements in the hair with the nature of nutrition. We examined 107 people (75 women and 32 men), first-year students of the Peoples` Friendship University of Russia from 33 countries. The average age of the subjects was 22 years. The hair was taken from the occipital part of the head. Hair was analyzed for qualitative and quantitative elemental composition by induced coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The average dietary intake of students was assessed by the method of frequency analysis using the Nutrilogic software. The results of the study showed that more than half of the students had a deficiency in consumption of P (61.68%), I (57.01%), Mo (75.70%), Cr (78.50%), choline (71.96%). The strongest correlations of the content of the chemical elements in the hair with the intake of nutrients in men were found for (chemical element in the hair - nutrient, dependence, direct or inverse, p value) W - Mo, ↓, 0.007; Co - vitamin B12, ↑, 0.003, Hg - β-carotene, ↓, 0.002; Mg - folate, ↑, 0.001; Mg - pantothenic acid, ↓, 0.0001; P - vitamin B12, ↑, 0.0001; P - pantothenic acid, ↑, 0.001. No such relationships were found among women, with the exception of beryllium concentrations: its content in the hair decreased with an increase in the intake of protein, fats, vitamins B1 and B12, as well as Na and Fe (in all cases, p≤0.001). Thus, the data obtained indicate that insufficient intake of various nutrients can significantly affect the status of a number of chemical elements. Moreover, the list of chemical elements is different for different nutrients.