Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Medicine, General & Internal, General & Internal Medicine, Acetylglucosaminidase, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Amino Acids, Belgium, Body Burden, Cadmium, Calcium, Cross-Sectional Studies, Environmental Exposure, Evaluation Studies as Topic, Female, Humans, Kidney Tubules, Proximal, Male, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Retinol-Binding Proteins, Sampling Studies, Sex Factors, Smoking, beta 2-Microglobulin, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences, 42 Health sciences

Abstract:

In a cross-sectional population study to assess whether environmental exposure to cadmium is associated with renal dysfunction, 1699 subjects aged 20-80 years were studied as a random sample of four areas of Belgium with varying degrees of cadmium pollution. After standardisation for several possible confounding factors, five variables (urinary excretion of retinol-binding protein, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, beta 2-microglobulin, aminoacids, and calcium) were significantly associated with the urinary excretion of cadmium (as a marker of cadmium body burden), suggesting the presence of tubular dysfunction. There was a 10% probability of values of these variables being abnormal when cadmium excretion exceeded 2-4 micrograms/24 h. Excretion reached this threshold in 10% of non-smokers. There was also evidence that diabetic patients may be more susceptible to the toxic effect of cadmium on the renal proximal tubule.