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Title: Blood cadmium by race/hispanic origin: The role of smoking

Journal Article · · Environmental Research
 [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 3311 Toledo Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782 (United States)
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Laboratory Sciences, MS F-20, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30341 (United States)

Background: There have been increasing concerns over health effects of low level exposure to cadmium, especially those on bones and kidneys. Objective: To explore how age-adjusted geometric means of blood cadmium in adults varied by race/Hispanic origin, sex, and smoking status among U.S. adults and the extent to which the difference in blood cadmium by race/Hispanic origin and sex may be explained by intensity of smoking, a known major source of cadmium exposure. Methods: Our sample included 7,368 adults from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014. With direct age adjustment, geometric means of blood cadmium and number of cigarettes smoked per day were estimated for subgroups defined by race/Hispanic origin, smoking status, and sex using interval regression, which allows mean estimation in the presence of left- and right-censoring. Results: Among never and former smoking men and women, blood cadmium tended to be higher for non-Hispanic Asian adults than adults of other race/Hispanic origin. Among current smokers, who generally had higher blood cadmium than never and former smokers, non-Hispanic white, black, and Asian adults had similarly elevated blood cadmium compared to Hispanic adults. A separate analysis revealed that non-Hispanic white adults tended to have the highest smoking intensity regardless of sex, than adults of the other race/Hispanic origin groups. Conclusions: The observed pattern provided evidence for smoking as a major source of cadmium exposure, yet factors other than smoking also appeared to contribute to higher blood cadmium of non-Hispanic Asian adults. - Highlights: • Among never and former smoking adults, Asians have the highest blood cadmium. • White adults tend to have the highest smoking intensity, but not blood cadmium. • Women overall have higher levels of blood cadmium than men regardless of smoking. • Non-smoking sources of exposure likely contribute to Asians’ higher blood cadmium.

OSTI ID:
22689557
Journal Information:
Environmental Research, Vol. 155; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0013-9351
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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