Exposure determinants of cadmium in European mothers and their children

Abstract

The metal cadmium (Cd) is a widespread environmental pollutant with documented adverse effects on the kidneys and bones from long-term environmental exposure, but with insufficiently elucidated public health consequences such as risk of cardiovascular disease, hormone-related cancer in adults and developmental effects in children. This study is the first pan-European human biomonitoring project that succeeded in performing harmonized measurements of Cd in urine in a comparable way in mother-child couples from 16 European countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the overall Cd exposure and significant determinants of Cd exposure. A study population of 1632 women (24-52 years of age), and 1689 children (5-12 years of age), from 32 rural and urban areas, was examined within a core period of 6 months in 2011-2012. Women were stratified as smokers and non-smokers. As expected, smoking mothers had higher geometric mean (gm) urinary cadmium (UCd; 0.24 µg/g crea; n=360) than non-smoking mothers (gm 0.18 µg/g crea; n=1272; p<0.0001), and children had lower UCd (gm 0.065 µg/g crea; n=1689) than their mothers at the country level. Non-smoking women exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at home had 14% (95% CI 1-28%) higher UCd than those who were not exposed to ETS at home (p=0.04). No influence of ETS at home or other places on UCd levels was detected in children. Smoking women with primary education as the highest educational level of the household had 48% (95% CI 18-86%) higher UCd than those with tertiary education (p=0.0008). The same observation was seen in non-smoking women and in children; however they were not statistically significant. In children, living in a rural area was associated with 7% (95% CI 1-13%) higher UCd (p=0.03) compared to living in an urban area. Children, 9-12 years had 7% (95% CI 1-13%) higher UCd (p=0.04) than children 5-8 years. About 1% of the mothers, and 0.06% of the children, exceeded the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) appointed by EFSA, corresponding to 1.0 µg Cd/g crea in urine. Poland had the highest UCd in comparison between the 16 countries, while Denmark had the lowest. Whether the differences between countries are related to differences in the degree of environmental Cd contamination or to differences in lifestyle, socioeconomic status or dietary patterns is not clear.

Diet as a Source of Exposure to Environmental Contaminants for Pregnant Women and Children from Six European Countries

“…High meat intake was associated with a decrease in blood Cd levels in nonsmoking women and all children. A similar finding was reported in nonsmoking women from 16 European countries (Berglund et al. 2015).…”

“…Dietary determinants of other toxic elements, such as Cd and Pb are more diverse (Baeyens et al. 2014; Berglund et al. 2015; Castaño et al.…”

The determinants of lead and cadmium blood levels for preschool children from industrially contaminated sites in Poland

“…Our observation has confirmed that apart from the place of residence, some circumferences such as: the parental level of education and any occupational contact with heavy metals as well as parental smoking at home could be important determinants for assessment of children's exposure. Obtained results are again similar to the aforementioned multicenter publication [19].…”

Placental Expression of Imprinted Genes, Overall and in Sex-Specific Patterns, Associated with Placental Cadmium Concentrations and Birth Size

“…We adjusted for variables that have been associated with Cd exposure and that are recognized as influencing pregnancy and birth outcomes. Smoking status, highest educational attainment, and age were observed to be the strongest predictors of urinary Cd concentrations in a recent study of women and/or children across 16 European countries (Berglund et al. 2015).…”