Association between renal tubular dysfunction and mortality among residents in a cadmium-polluted area, Nagasaki, Japan.
A retrospective cohort study was carried out to clarify the effect of exposure to environmental cadmium (Cd) on mortality. A total of 256 residents aged 50 years or older, living in Sasu, a Cd-polluted area in Tsushima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, were followed from July 1979 to February 1989. The expected number of deaths calculated was based on the sex- and age- specific mortality rate in Tsushima Island in 1985. In Sasu residents of both sexes with urinary beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m) concentration greater than 1,000 microgram/g creatinine in 1979, observed deaths were greater than expected. However, the p value of the difference was less than 0.05 only in men. The relationships of age, mean blood pressure, urinary beta 2-m and urinary Cd concentration to mortality were examined using Cox's proportional hazards model. Urinary beta 2-m was independently and significantly related to mortality in men but not in women. The results suggest an association between Cd-induced renal tubular dysfunction and mortality.
Iwata
K
K
Department of Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion, Nagasaki University School of Medicine.
Saito
H
H
Moriyama
M
M
Nakano
A
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002104:Cadmium / Q000652:urine; D002105:Cadmium Poisoning / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000652:urine
D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin; D002104:Cadmium; D003404:Creatinine