Metal toxicology – Maria Kippler's research group

The aim of our research is to identify toxic effects of metals, and to understand causal relationships of metal exposures with early life development and later life diseases, and how susceptibility factors influence these relationships.

Part of the:

Publications

Selected publications

All publications from group members

Funding

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
    Infants and children are particularly vulnerable in terms of food safety. The overall purpose of this 3-year project is to establish a scientific basis for a Swedish action plan to reduce toxic metals in food towards background levels. Like recently proposed by the US food and drug administration in their Closer to zero action plan, we prioritize arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, but also fluoride and manganese, all of which have been detected in food and/or water and associated with impaired child development at fairly low exposure levels. This will be accomplished by measurements of metals in foods directed towards infants on the Swedish market, in combination with measuring well establish biomarkers of metal exposures and identifying major dietary sources in infants and young children (1, 1.5 and 4-year old’s) in the NICE cohort (n≈ 550) in northern Sweden and in Riksmaten young children (n=300) in middle and southern Sweden. Detailed dietary data is collected via food frequency questionnaires and food diaries. The exposure to metal mixtures at 4 years will also be related to data on child growth obtained from pediatric records using statistical models for mixtures, and we will conduct a scoping review on early childhood metal exposure and child growth. This will provide a strong scientific foundation for authorities in their work towards minimizing the exposure to metals via food through improved guidelines and policies to ensure the health of future generations.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
    Early life development is highly dependent on adequate nutrition, but also susceptible to toxic insult. Toxic metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, manganese, and methylmercury (a toxic form of mercury), are commonly present in food, e.g., cereals, vegetables and fish, and drinking water. Lead and methylmercury are known to impair cognitive development at very low exposure levels, but little is known of the impact of the other metals with similar effects at the molecular level. Our research aims at closing the immense knowledge gap concerning effects of early-life exposure to metal mixtures on child growth, cognition, and behavior, i.e., health effects of major current concern in modern society.We are developing a toxicity arm in a newly established mother-child cohort, NICE, at Sunderby hospital, Norrbotten. We have discovered unexpectedly wide variations in the dietary exposure to cadmium, lead, methylmercury, and fluoride (mainly drinking water) during pregnancy, and identified adverse associations with pregnancy outcomes and thyroid function, independent of the identified prevalent deficiency of iodine and selenium in both mothers and young infants. We now seek funding to evaluate the impact of the toxic metals on growth (0-4 years), thyroid, cognition, and behavior at 4 years. At the end of 2022, we have about 600 children tested by Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, parents-completed questionnaires (CBCL, ABAS-2, SRS-2), and blood and urine sampled.
  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2021 - 30 June 2026
  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2020 - 31 December 2023
  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 December 2018 - 30 November 2025

Staff and contact

Group leader

All members of the group

Visiting address

Karolinska Institutet, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nobels väg 13, Stockholm, Solna, Sweden

Postal address

Karolinska Institutet, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Box 210, Stockholm, SE-171 77, Sweden