Evaluation of carbon monoxide in blood samples from the second health and nutrition survey. Progress report No. 1

This is a study of carbon monoxide (CO) in the blood of human subjects participating in the Second National Health and Nutrition Survey (HANES II), a detailed study of health indicators in sample populations of many communities throughout the U.S. The purpose of this aspect of the survey is to evaluate the levels of blood carboxyhemoglobin in normal individuals of all ages in typical U.S. communities, from whom accurate histories and clinical studies are available. This report gives results of the first of three years of analyses. A careful calibration of the analytical method has been completed, and more than 3000 blood samples have been analyzed. Although smoking histories are not yet available to permit evaluation of carboxyhemoglobin in non-smokers, in children under 12 years of age, blood COHb has been found to be consistently low, with less than 3% greater than 1.5% COHb. These preliminary results suggest that urban exposure to carbon monoxide among the general population is not now significant in the U.S., at least during the period of these early examinations