Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Oct;116(10):1338-43.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.11452. Epub 2008 Jun 13.

Urinary cadmium and osteoporosis in U.S. Women >or= 50 years of age: NHANES 1988-1994 and 1999-2004

Carolyn M Gallagher  1 , John S Kovach, Jaymie R Meliker
Affiliations

Urinary cadmium and osteoporosis in U.S. Women >or= 50 years of age: NHANES 1988-1994 and 1999-2004

Carolyn M Gallagher et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Urinary cadmium (U-Cd) has been associated with decreased peripheral bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis. This association, however, has not been confirmed using femoral BMD, the international standard for diagnosing osteoporosis, at levels < 1.0 microg Cd/g creatinine.

Objectives: Our goal was to investigate the statistical association between U-Cd, at levels <or= 1 microg/g creatinine, and osteoporosis, as indicated by hip BMD and self-report in a population-based sample of U.S. women >or= 50 years of age.

Methods: We drew data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1988-1994 (n = 3,207) and 1999-2004 (n = 1,051). Osteoporosis was indicated by hip BMD cutoffs based on the international standard and self-report of physician diagnosis. We analyzed U-Cd levels for association with osteoporosis using multiple logistic regression.

Results: Women >or= 50 years of age with U-Cd levels between 0.50 and 1.00 microg/g creatinine were at 43% greater risk for hip-BMD-defined osteoporosis, relative to those with levels <or= 0.50 microg/g (odds ratio = 1.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.00; p = 0.04). We observed similar effect estimates using self-report of physician-diagnosed osteoporosis. Smokers did not show a statistically increased risk.

Conclusions: Results suggest that U.S. women are at risk for osteoporosis at U-Cd levels below the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's 3-microg/g safety standard. Given null findings among smokers, dietary Cd, rather than tobacco, is the likely source of Cd-related osteoporosis risk for the U.S. female population >or= 50 years of age.

Keywords: bone mineral density; cadmium; femur; hip; osteoporosis; women.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Akesson A, Bjellerup P, Lundh T, Lidfeldt J, Nerbrand C, Samlioe G, et al. Cadmium-induced effects on bone in a population-based study of women. Environ Health Perspect. 2006;114:830–834. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alfven T, Elinder CG, Carlsson MD, Grubb A, Hellstrom L, Persson B, et al. Low-level cadmium exposure and osteoporosis. J Bone Miner Res. 2000;15(8):1579–1586. - PubMed
    1. Alfven T, Elinder CG, Hellstrom L, Lagarde F, Jarup L. Cadmium exposure and distal forearm fractures. J Bone Miner Res. 2004;19(6):900–905. - PubMed
    1. ATSDR. Toxicological Profile for Cadmium. Atlanta, GA: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; 1999. [[accessed 5 January 2008]]. Available: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp5.html.
    1. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Analytic and Reporting Guidelines: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES III (1988–94) 1996a. [[accessed 29 May 2008]]. Available: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.

LinkOut - more resources