Environmental Cadmium and Mortality from Influenza and Pneumonia in U.S. Adults

The effects of some essential and toxic metals/metalloids in COVID-19: A review

“…In addition to the above indicated pollutants, exposure to certain toxic metals/metalloids such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead or vanadium can also cause negative effects on the human respiratory system ( González et al, 2021 ; Grzywa-Celinska et al, 2020; Oh et al, 2014 ). Recently, Park et al (2020) investigated the association between cadmium and mortality from influenza and pneumonia in US adults. The results suggested that a higher cadmium burden is associated with higher mortality from influenza/pneumonia.…”

Response to “Comment on ‘Environmental Cadmium and Mortality from Influenza and Pneumonia in U.S. Adults’”

“…In our study ( Park et al. 2020 ), we observed that the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) comparing individuals in the 80th vs. 20th percentiles of urinary Cd (creatinine-corrected) was 1.15 {[95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.26]; }, and the corresponding HR for blood Cd was 1.14 [(95% CI: 0.96, 1.36); )].…”

“…We thank Dr. Kawada for addressing our paper. Kawada raised three questions (Kawada 2021) given our findings of a statistically significant association with urinary cadmium (Cd) but no statistically significant association with blood Cd. We can best address these questions by providing additional explanation of our results based on significance testing.…”

Comment on “Environmental Cadmium and Mortality from Influenza and Pneumonia in U.S. Adults”

“…Park et al. ( 2020 ) conducted a prospective study on the association between cadmium (Cd) exposure and subsequent mortality associated with influenza and pneumonia. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of participants with creatinine-corrected urinary Cd (U-Cd) in the 80th vs. 20th percentiles for influenza- or pneumonia-associated mortality was 1.15 (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.26), and the significance was maintained among never-smokers.…”

“…Third, Park et al. ( 2020 ) used Cox regression analysis to predict influenza- or pneumonia-associated mortality by Cd exposure. U-Cd concentrations varied widely by age, and there are different results of the adjusted HRs for mortality in each age class.…”