title: Body burden of cadmium and its related factors: a large-scale survey in China.
abstract: A survey of more than 6000 participants from four distinct non-polluted and polluted regions in China was conducted to evaluate the body burden of cadmium (Cd) on the Chinese populations using urinary Cd (UCd) as a biomarker. The findings revealed that the UCd level was 1.24 μg/g creatinine (μg/g cr) for the sample population from non-polluted Shanghai, and the UCd levels exceeded 5 μg/g cr, which is the health-based exposure limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1.1% of people. The mean UCd levels in moderately polluted (Hubei and Liaoning) and highly polluted areas (Guizhou) were 4.69 μg/g cr, 3.62 μg/g cr and 6.08 μg/g cr, respectively, and these levels were 2.9 to 4.9 times the levels observed in Shanghai. Notably, the UCd levels exceeded the recently updated human biomonitoring II values (i.e., intervention or "action level") in 44.8%-87.9% of people from these areas compared to only 5.1%-21.4% of people in Shanghai. The corresponding prevalence of elevated UCd levels (>WHO threshold, 5 μg/g cr) was also significantly higher (30.7% to 63.8% vs. 1.1%), which indicates that elevated Cd-induced health risks to residents in these areas. Age and region were significant determinants for UCd levels in a population, whereas gender did not significantly influence UCd.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Shen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Xi-Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Wen-Jing
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Hui-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
authors.forename: Zi-Ling
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China. Electronic address: chen_zhinan56@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhi-Nan
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001822:Body Burden; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002681:China; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D002104:Cadmium
keywords: Age and gender difference; Cadmium body burden; Large population; Region difference; Urinary cadmium