title: Gender differences in cadmium and cotinine levels in prepubertal children.
abstract: Susceptibility to environmental stressors has been described for fetal and early childhood development. However, the possible susceptibility of the prepubertal period, characterized by the orchestration of the organism towards sexual maturation and adulthood has been poorly investigated and exposure data are scarce. In the current study levels of cadmium (Cd), cotinine and creatinine in urine were analyzed in a subsample 216 children from 12 European countries within the DEMOCOPHES project. The children were divided into six age-sex groups: boys (6-8 years, 9-10 years and 11 years old), and girls (6-7 years, 8-9 years, 10-11 years). The number of subjects per group was between 23 and 53. The cut off values were set at 0.1 µg/L for Cd, and 0.8 µg/L for cotinine defined according to the highest limit of quantification. The levels of Cd and cotinine were adjusted for creatinine level. In the total subsample group, the median level of Cd was 0.180 µg/L (range 0.10-0.69 µg/L), and for cotinine the median wet weight value was 1.50 µg/L (range 0.80-39.91 µg/L). There was no significant difference in creatinine and cotinine levels between genders and age groups. There was a significant correlation between levels of cadmium and creatinine in all children of both genders. This shows that even at such low levels the possible effect of cadmium on kidney function was present and measurable. An increase in Cd levels was evident with age. Cadmium levels were significantly different between 6-7 year old girls, 11 year old boys and 10-11 year old girls. As there was a balanced distribution in the number of subjects from countries included in the study, bias due to data clustering was not probable. The impact of low Cd levels on kidney function and gender differences in Cd levels needs further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska c 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address: afucic@imi.hr.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fucic
authors.affiliation: Children Hospital Srebrnjak, Croatia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Plavec
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Casteleyn
authors.affiliation: Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment - DG Environment, Belgium.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aerts
authors.affiliation: DG Environment, Multilateral and Strategic Affairs, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biot
authors.affiliation: State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Cyprus.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Katsonouri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire National de Sante, Luxembourg; National Institute of Public Health, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerna
authors.affiliation: University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Knudsen
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castano
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Environmental Health, Hungary.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rudnai
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche Public - Gabriel Lippmann, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutleb
authors.affiliation: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Poland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ligocka
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Romania.
authors.forename: I-R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Lupsa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berglund
authors.affiliation: Institute Josef Stefan, Slovenia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horvat
authors.affiliation: Public Health Authority, Slovak Republic; State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Cyprus.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halzlova
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Environmental Risk and Health, Netherlands.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schoeters
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Environmental Risk and Health, Netherlands.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koppen
authors.affiliation: Larnaca General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Republic of Cyprus.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hadjipanayis
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire National de Sante, Luxembourg; National Institute of Public Health, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krskova
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Environmental Health, Hungary.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Középesy
authors.affiliation: Initiativ Liewensufank, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arendt
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire National de Sante, Luxembourg; National Institute of Public Health, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Poland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Janasik
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Romania.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Gurzau
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Romania.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Gurzau
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grandér
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.affiliation: Institute Josef Stefan, Slovenia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jajcaj
authors.affiliation: Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kolossa-Gehring
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, UK.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sepai
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Exley
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartolome
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cutanda
authors.affiliation: Institute Josef Stefan, Slovenia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mazej
authors.affiliation: University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: J K S
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Institute Josef Stefan, Slovenia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Snoj-Tratnik
authors.affiliation: Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schwedler
authors.affiliation: Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fiddicke
authors.affiliation: Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seiwert
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Environmental Risk and Health, Netherlands.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Govarts
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Environmental Risk and Health, Netherlands.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Den Hond
authors.affiliation: Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance - Institute of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (IPA), Germany.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: BiPRO GmbH, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Joas
authors.affiliation: BiPRO GmbH, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Joas
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000652:urine*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D002104:Cadmium / Q000652:urine*; D002648:Child; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000652:urine; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002104:Cadmium; D003404:Creatinine; D003367:Cotinine