Cadmium in blood and hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
This study is to examine the effect of cadmium exposure on blood pressure in Korean general population.


METHODS
The study population consisted of 958 men and 944 women who participated in the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), in which blood pressure and blood cadmium were measured from each participant.


RESULTS
The mean blood cadmium level was 1.67 microg/L (median level 1.55). The prevalence of hypertension was 26.2%. The blood cadmium level was significantly higher among those subjects with hypertension than those without (mean level 1.77 versus 1.64 microg/dL). After adjusting for covariates, the odds ratio of hypertension comparing the highest to the lowest tertile of cadmium in blood was 1.51 (95% confidence interval 1.13 to 2.05), and a dose-response relationship was observed. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure were all positively associated with blood cadmium level, and this effect of cadmium on blood pressure was markedly stronger when the kidney function was reduced.


CONCLUSIONS
Cadmium exposures at the current level may have increased the blood pressure of Korean general population.
Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ki-Do
KD
Eum
Mi-Sun
MS
Lee
Domyung
D
Paek
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002104:Cadmium / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead