| Title |
Metal Contamination and the Epidemic of Congenital Birth Defects in Iraqi Cities
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, September 2012
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00128-012-0817-2 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
M. Al-Sabbak, S. Sadik Ali, O. Savabi, G. Savabi, S. Dastgiri, M. Savabieasfahani |
| Abstract |
Between October 1994 and October 1995, the number of birth defects per 1,000 live births in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital was 1.37. In 2003, the number of birth defects in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital was 23 per 1,000 live births. Within less than a decade, the occurrence of congenital birth defects increased by an astonishing 17-fold in the same hospital. A yearly account of the occurrence and types of birth defects, between 2003 and 2011, in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital, was reported. Metal levels in hair, toenail, and tooth samples of residents of Al Basrah were also provided. The enamel portion of the deciduous tooth from a child with birth defects from Al Basrah (4.19 μg/g) had nearly three times higher lead than the whole teeth of children living in unimpacted areas. Lead was 1.4 times higher in the tooth enamel of parents of children with birth defects (2,497 ± 1,400 μg/g, mean ± SD) compared to parents of normal children (1,826 ± 1,819 μg/g). Our data suggested that birth defects in the Iraqi cities of Al Basrah (in the south of Iraq) and Fallujah (in central Iraq) are mainly folate-dependent. This knowledge offers possible treatment options and remediation plans for at-risk Iraqi populations. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 149 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 28 | 19% |
| United Kingdom | 6 | 4% |
| Australia | 4 | 3% |
| Japan | 3 | 2% |
| Italy | 3 | 2% |
| Turkey | 2 | 1% |
| Mexico | 1 | <1% |
| South Sudan | 1 | <1% |
| Thailand | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 17 | 11% |
| Unknown | 83 | 56% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 130 | 87% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 8 | 5% |
| Scientists | 6 | 4% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 5 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 92 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 | 4% |
| Unknown | 88 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 17 | 18% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 12% |
| Student > Master | 10 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 9 | 10% |
| Other | 5 | 5% |
| Other | 19 | 21% |
| Unknown | 21 | 23% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 27 | 29% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 10 | 11% |
| Environmental Science | 10 | 11% |
| Social Sciences | 4 | 4% |
| Physics and Astronomy | 3 | 3% |
| Other | 15 | 16% |
| Unknown | 23 | 25% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 171. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 March 2023.
All research outputs
#241,427
of 25,801,916 outputs
Outputs from Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
#2
of 4,262 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#1,070
of 177,771 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
#1
of 14 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,801,916 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,262 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.1. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 14 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 92% of its contemporaries.