Relationship between Hay Fever and Mineral Concentration in the Hair, Lifestyle or Aging

Abstract

It is important to ingest just proportions of minerals to prevent disease, but these minerals are also secreted into the hair. Meanwhile, the number of hay fever patients in Japan is increasing, causing an increase in national medical expenses. In this study, we investigated the relationship between hay fever and mineral concentrations in hair to obtain ndings on the risk of developing pollen allergies. A questionnaire survey was conducted for 275 men and 977 women on their lifestyle habits and ten kinds of mineral concentrations present in their hair were measured with subsequent analysis using nominal logistic regression analysis. The results indicated that half the patients in each age group had hay fever, with no signiˆcant diŠerence between hay fever and aging, exercise habits, sleep and dietary rhythms. On the other hand, there was a signiˆcant diŠerence between hay fever and mineral concentrations in the hair, and in men with hay fever, iron (odds ratio: 0.55, p＜0.05) was low, while in women calcium (odds ratio: 0.67, p＜0.05), chromium (odds ratio: 0.46, p＜0.001), cadmium (odds ratio: 0.68, p＜0.01) were low and selenium (odds ratio: 1.78, p＜0.01) was high. These results, suggest that measurements mineral concentrations in hair are indicators of hay fever risk.

Relationship between self-reported osteoporosis and mineral concentrations in female hair

“…Accordingly, hair minerals should be measured to better understand the risks for the development of certain health conditions. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between the risk of hay fever and low concentrations of iron, Ca, chromium, and cadmium, and high concentration of selenium in hair 5) ; an association between schizophrenia and low concentrations of Zn and Ca and high concentrations of Cu and cadmium in the hair of adult men 6) ; and a relationship between low concentrations of Zn in hair during childhood and autism spectrum disorder 7) . Therefore, measurement of hair mineral concentrations during regular haircuts may contribute to the early detection of diseases and improve health consciousness.…”