Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1942/3105
Title: | Environmental exposure to cadmium, forearm bone density, and risk of fractures: prospective population study | Authors: | Staessen, JA ROELS, Harry Emelianov, D Kuznetsova, T Thijs, L VANGRONSVELD, Jaco Fagard, R |
Issue Date: | 1999 | Publisher: | LANCET LTD | Source: | LANCET, 353(9159). p. 1140-1144 | Abstract: | Background Chronic low-level exposure to cadmium may promote calcium loss via urinary excretion. We undertook a prospective population study to investigate whether environmental exposure to cadmium lowers bone density and increases risk of fractures. Methods We measured urinary cadmium excretion, a biomarker of lifetime exposure, in people from ten districts of Belgium, of which six districts bordered on three zinc smelters. We also measured cadmium in soil and in vegetables from the districts, and collected data on incidence of fractures and height loss. Bone density was measured at the forearm just above the wrist by single photon absorptiometry, and calculated as the mean of six proximal and four distal scans. Findings Mean cadmium excretion at baseline was 8.7 nmol dairy. Across the ten districts, mean cadmium concentration in soil ranged from 0.8 to 14.7 mg/kg, and from 0.1 to 4.0 mg/kg dry weight in vegetables. Median follow-up was 6.6 years. Mean forearm bane density in proximal and distal scans was 0.54 g/cm(2) and 0.43 g/cm(2) in men, and 0.44 g/cm(2) and 0.34 g/cm(2) in women, in postmenopausal women, a twofold increase in urinary cadmium correlated with 0.01 g/cm(2) decrease in bone density (p < 0.02). The relative risks associated with doubted urinary cadmium were 1.73 (95% CI 1.16-2.57; p = 0.007) for fractures in women and 1.60 (0.94-2.72, p = 0.08) for height toss in men. Cadmium excretion in districts near smelters was 22.8% higher (p = 0.001) than in other districts, with fracture rates of 16.0 end 10.3 cases per 1000 person-years, respectively, and a population-attributable risk of 35.0%. Interpretation Even at a low degree of environmental exposure, cadmium may promote skeletal demineralisation, which may lead to increased bone fragility and raised risk of fractures. | Notes: | Katholieke Univ Leuven, Dept Mol & Cardiovasc Res, Hypertens & Cardiovasc Rehabil Unit, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Univ Catholique Louvain, Unite Toxicol Ind & Med Travail, Bruxelles, Belgium. Limburgs Univ Ctr, Diepenbeek, Belgium.Staessen, JA, Katholieke Univ Leuven, Dept Mol & Cardiovasc Res, Hypertens & Cardiovasc Rehabil Unit, Campus Gasthuisberg,Herestr 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/3105 | ISI #: | 000079858400012 | Type: | Journal Contribution | Validations: | ecoom 2000 |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
Show full item record
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
333
checked on Aug 21, 2024
Page view(s)
120
checked on Aug 6, 2023
Google ScholarTM
Check
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.