Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34970334›Full record

ArticleExperimental and therapeutic medicine2022

Heavy metal ion concentration in the amniotic fluid of preterm and term pregnancies from two cities with different industrial output.

Radu Ionut Neamtu, Marius Craina, George Dahma, Alin Viorel Popescu, Adelina Geanina Erimescu, Ioana Citu, Amadeus Dobrescu, Florin George Horhat, Dan Dumitru Vulcanescu, Florin Gorun and 3 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Lead exposure at the feto-maternal interface: a cause for concern for fetal membrane trophoblasts.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Radu Ionut NeamtuDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Marius CrainaDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
George DahmaDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Alin Viorel PopescuDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Adelina Geanina ErimescuDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Ioana CituDepartment of Internal Medicine I, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Amadeus DobrescuDepartment of Surgery, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Florin George HorhatMultidisciplinary Research Center on Antimicrobial Resistance (Multi-Rez), Microbiology Department, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Dan Dumitru VulcanescuMultidisciplinary Research Center on Antimicrobial Resistance (Multi-Rez), Microbiology Department, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Florin GorunDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Elena Silvia BernadDepartment of Internal Medicine I, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Andrei MotocDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Ioan Cosmin CituDepartment of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Neonatology, 'Victor Babes' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara · RO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The growth and development of the fetus is a complex phenomenon that can be influenced by several variables. High quantities of heavy metal ions in the amniotic fluid have been linked to poor health, especially in industrial, polluted and poor areas. The aim of the present study was to assess the differences in the concentration of these ions between preterm (weeks 15-37) and term pregnancies (starting at week 37). Another objective was to compare pregnancies from two cities with different industry levels. Two sample lots from two Romanian cities were analyzed. A total of 100 patients from Timisoara were compared with 60 from Petrosani, a heavy industry city in Romania. Demographic data were collected, and amniocentesis was performed on all women. Lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations were assessed. Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for non-parametric data and the Fisher's exact test for categorical data. In addition, categorical data was represented graphically. In the Timisoara cohort, the differences in heavy metal concentrations between preterm and term pregnancies were not statistically significant. In the Petrosani cohort, however, the concentrations of Zn (P=0.02606) and Cd (P=0.01512) were higher in preterm than in term pregnancies. When comparing the two cohorts as a whole, the concentration of Pb (P=0.04513), Cd (P=0.00002), As (P=0.03027) and Zn (P<0.00001) were higher in the patients from Petrosani than in those from Timisoara. Only Cu concentrations were higher in the Timisoara cohort (P<0.00001). The concentrations of Ni (P=0.78150) and Fe (P=0.44540) did not differ statistically. Thus, amniocentesis is an important diagnostic and exploratory tool in determining differences in the concentrations of elements such as heavy metal ions. Research over a longer period of time should be carried out to examine the relation between heavy metal ions concentration and possible postnatal health outcomes.

Indexed as

amniocentesisamniotic fluidheavy industryheavy metalsionspregnancypretermterm

Identifiers

PMID34970334
PMCPMC8713173
OpenAlexW4200515306

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.