MedWire News: Exposure to cadmium may increase the risk
for osteopenia and osteoporosis, US researchers have found.
The team used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey to show that increasing levels of urinary
cadmium are associated with an increased risk for pathologically
low bone mineral density (BMD).
Qing Wu (Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona), and colleagues note
the correlation remained after adjusting for confounding factors
such as age, body mass index (BMI), and calcium intake, and within
subgroups of gender, race, and smoking status.
However, they note: "A prospective study would be required to
establish a causal relationship between cadmium and
osteoporosis."
The team examined urinary cadmium levels and rates of World
Health Organization defined osteopenia (T-score >-2.5 but
<-1) and osteoporosis (T-score <-2.5) in 10,979 men and women
aged 30-90 years.
The odds ratio (OR) for osteopenia and osteoporosis increased in
a dose-dependent manner with urinary cadmium levels after adjusting
for age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, calcium intake, and physical
inactivity, the team reports in the journal Osteoporosis
International. For each 1.00-1.99 µg of urinary cadmium
per g of urinary creatinine, the ORs for osteopenia and
osteoporosis were 1.49 and 1.78, respectively. For each 2.00 or
greater µg/g increase the corresponding ORs were 2.05 and
3.80.
Moreover, the relationship was consistent in men and women,
participants aged above and below 50 years, smokers and nonsmokers,
and in White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic participants.
Wu et al note that the underlying cause of
cadmium-induced low BMD is unclear. They suggest that the toxic
metal may disrupt calcium metabolism through damage to the renal or
gastrointestinal systems, or alter bone resorption.
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2010
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