End-stage renal disease and low level exposure to lead, cadmium and mercury; a population-based, prospective nested case-referent study in Sweden.

End-stage renal disease and low level exposure to lead, cadmium and mercury; a population-based, prospective nested case-referent study in Sweden.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23343055

Sommar JN, Svensson MK, Björ BM, Elmståhl SI, Hallmans G, Lundh T, Schön SM, Skerfving S, Bergdahl IA.

Environ Health. 2013 Jan 23;12(1):9. [Epub ahead of print]

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND: Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) cause toxicological renal effects, but the clinical relevance at low-level exposures in general populations is unclear. The objective of this study is to assess the risk of developing end-stage renal disease in relation to Cd, Pb, and Hg exposure.

METHODS: A total of 118 cases who later in life developed end-stage renal disease, and 378 matched (sex, age, area, and time of blood sampling) referents were identified among participants in two population-based prospective cohorts (130,000 individuals). Cd, Pb, and Hg concentrations were determined in prospectively collected samples.

RESULTS: Erythrocyte lead was associated with an increased risk of developing end-stage renal disease (mean in cases 76 mug/L; odds ratio (OR) 1.54 for an interquartile range increase, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-2.00), while erythrocyte mercury was negatively associated (2.4 mug/L; OR 0.75 for an interquartile range increase, CI 0.56-0.99). For erythrocyte cadmium, the OR of developing end-stage renal disease was 1.15 for an interquartile range increase (CI 0.99-1.34; mean Ery-Cd among cases: 1.3 mug/L). The associations for erythrocyte lead and erythrocyte mercury, but not for erythrocyte cadmium, remained after adjusting for the other two metals, smoking, BMI, diabetes, and hypertension. Gender-specific analyses showed that men carried almost all of the erythrocyte lead and erythrocyte cadmium associated risks.

CONCLUSIONS: Erythrocyte lead is associated with end-stage renal disease but further studies are needed to evaluate causality. Gender-specific analyses suggest potential differences in susceptibility or in exposure biomarker reliability.

PMID: 23343055 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]