Urine · 2 analyses
Lead
Measures lead in your urine, as an addition to lead in blood with work involving lead. To check whether you take in too much lead, lead in blood is better.
€ 60,00
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Metals, toxins and medication · Urine
Lead (urine)
Lead in urine says something about exposure to lead, but lead in blood is the usual and better measure.
At a glance
- Measured in urine
- In 2 test panels
- Check the preparation
Explanation
Lead (urine): what is measured?
The analysis measures how much lead leaves the body in the urine. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that mainly builds up in the blood and bone; only a small part is excreted in the urine. The amount in the urine varies more than the amount in the blood. During treatment with medicines that bind lead, lead actually leaves the body through the urine.
What can it detect?
- Exposure to lead through work, a hobby or old lead water pipes
- Monitoring excretion during treatment with medicines that bind lead
Result
What does the result mean?
Lead (urine) too high
A raised value fits exposure to lead, for example through work with batteries, demolition or old paint, through hobbies such as stained glass or shooting, or through lead water pipes in buildings from before 1960. During treatment with medicines that bind lead, high excretion is the intention. How large the lead load is can be read from lead in blood, not from the urine. Symptoms with a high lead load include tiredness, headache, abdominal pain and anemia.
Lead (urine) too low
A low value is normal; almost everyone excretes a small amount of lead. A low value in urine does not rule out an excessive lead load, because lead in blood and in the bone is not measured.
After an abnormal result
With a raised result, the GP has lead measured in blood and looks for the source, together with the occupational physician or the environmental health department of the GGD (municipal public health service) if needed. With very high values, referral to an internist follows.
Reliability
How reliable is the test?
Lead in blood is the usual measure of exposure to lead; the limits the NVKC mentions for treatment and for work with lead also apply to blood. Lead in urine says less: the value varies with how much you drink and gives a less clear picture of the load. The test is mainly used alongside lead in blood, for example with work involving lead or during treatment with medicines that bind lead. The result says something about exposure, not about a buildup that you can remove with a course of treatment.
What can affect the result?
- A single urine sample depends strongly on how much you have drunk; the result is easier to compare when it is expressed per gram of creatinine, which requires measuring creatinine in the same sample.
- Lead in blood and in the bone is not measured; lead in blood is needed to assess the load.
- Lead dust on the skin or on the collection container can falsely raise the result.
- There are no agreed cutoff values; the limit between normal and raised comes from the laboratory itself.
Preparation
- Do you work with lead? Then collect the urine at the end of a working day or right after the exposure.
Who it is for
Who is the test useful for?
Useful for
Useful as an addition to lead in blood with known exposure at work, or during treatment with medicines that bind lead. If too much lead is suspected, for example from lead pipes, work or a hobby, lead in blood is the better test. In people without exposure, the measurement adds nothing.
How common is it?
Exposure to lead has dropped sharply in the Netherlands since lead disappeared from petrol and lead water pipes were replaced. Buildings from before 1960 can still have lead pipes. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre (Voedingscentrum), pregnant women, bottle-fed babies and young children can then take in too much lead through tap water.
The RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), the Health Council of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Nutrition Centre (Voedingscentrum)
Drawbacks and risks
- A slightly raised urine value can cause worry while lead in blood is normal.
- A normal urine value can be falsely reassuring, because lead is mainly found in blood and bone.
Get tested
Lead (urine): test panels
Lead (urine) is part of these test panels. You order online and have your blood drawn at a collection point or collect the sample at home.
Evidence
Sources
This explanation is based on Dutch guidelines and independent information. It is general information, not a diagnosis. Discuss an abnormal result with your GP.
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