Human nails

REVIEW: yes

DATE: 2012 (references up to 2010)

REF: M. Filella, N. Belzile and Y.-W. Chen. Human exposure to antimony. II. Contents in some human tissues often used in biomonitoring (hair, nails, teeth). CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 42, 1058-1115 (2012).

NUMBER OF REFERENCES IN REVIEW: 166 (of which 5 on nails only and 4 on teeth only)

NUMBER OF CITATIONS (Web of Scienceā„¢, up to 31 October 2016): 6

PREVIOUS REVIEWS? No

CONCLUSIONS (adapted from the review):

  • Only 14 studies that contain data on antimony in nails, with publication dates ranging from 1968 to 2007.
  • Most of the methodological issues discussed in relation to hairĀ  apply to nails. The lack of an universally accepted method is shared with hair.
  • Milk values are subjected to numerous sources of variability (e.g., concentration of elements might change during the course of lactation).
  • No conclusions can be drawn about the utility of antimony measurement in nails because of the limited number of published studies.

PAPERS PUBLISHED AFTER REVIEW OR MISSED: none found

COMMENTS: