Determination of some elements in the cervical mucus of healthy Taiwanese women,by GF-AAS

The levels of seven trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, selenium, cadmium, chromium, and nickel were determined by graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrometry in the cervical mucus of 45 women residing in Taiwan, Republic of China. These women were in good health and had no precancerous or cancerous lesions on their cervix. The women were separated into four age groups to establish if there was a relationship between the age of the subjects and the values of these elements in the cervical mucus. By one-way analysis of variance, significant differences in the selenium and nickel concentrations were found among the four age groups (p<0.05). The mean concentration of selenium in each age group was significantly higher for the older women. A significant correlation between age and selenium concentration was found by linear regression (r=0.23, p=0.00048). No significant differences among the concentrations of copper, iron, zinc, cadmium, and chromium were found among these four age groups (p>0.05). The results presented in this work may be considered as baseline values for these elements in the cervical mucus of healthy Taiwanese women for use as reference in studies on cervical diseases and tissue damage.