Elevated copper in urine of Bangladeshi ethnic group living in the United Kingdom

Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was used to monitor urinary selenium, copper and zinc in a group of Bangladeshi (n=54), Indian (n=25), Pakistani (n=21), and White Caucasian (n=23) volunteers living in the UK. The most striking findings were far higher urinary copper levels (P<0.001) in the Bangladeshi group (median: 30.2 μg Cu/l) compared to other ethnicities (15.6 μg Cu/l, Pakistani; 14.8 μg Cu/l, Indian; 10.5 μg Cu/l, Caucasians) and to reference values reported for the UK population. Although no significant difference was found for Zn (P=0.22; medians: 430 μg Zn/l for Bangladeshis, 377 μg Zn/l for Pakistani, 350 μg Zn/l for Caucasians, 355 μg Zn/l for Indians), a significantly (P<0.001) higher Cu:Zn ratio was found for the Bangladeshis.…