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
. 2020 Mar 10;17(5):1794.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051794.

Female Infertility Associated with Blood Lead and Cadmium Levels

Sohyae Lee  1 , Jin-Young Min  2 , Kyoung-Bok Min  1
Affiliations

Female Infertility Associated with Blood Lead and Cadmium Levels

Sohyae Lee et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Lead and cadmium are known to be potential female reproductive toxins. However, studies on the relationship between these metals and infertility are limited. This study examines the association between self-reported infertility and blood lead and cadmium levels in US women by comparing metal levels in infertile and pregnant women. Data on blood lead, blood cadmium, and infertility from women aged 20-39 years who participated in the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed (n = 124, 'pregnant' n = 42, 'infertile' n = 82). Blood lead and cadmium levels were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and infertility and pregnancy status were assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Low blood lead and cadmium levels (geometric mean of blood lead = 0.50 µg/dL and blood cadmium = 0.26 µg/L) were positively associated with self-reported infertility after adjusting for confounding effects (odds ratio (OR) for lead per two-fold increase in blood metal levels = 2.60; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.05-6.41 and OR for cadmium per two-fold increase = 1.84; 95% CI, 1.07-3.15). Although our findings require confirmation, they suggest that even low blood cadmium and lead levels may be deleterious to female fecundity.

Keywords: cadmium; cross-sectional study; female infertility; heavy metals; lead; reproductive health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of events by blood lead (a) and blood cadmium (b) tertiles. Lead T1: Tertile 1 (0.11–0.38 µg/dL), T2: Tertile 2 (0.41–0.62 µg/dL), T3: Tertile 3 (0.63–5.37 µg/dL). Cadmium T1: Tertile 1 (0.07–0.19 µg/L), T2: Tertile 2 (0.20–0.33 µg/L), T3: Tertile 3 (0.34–5.14 µg/L).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-adjusted means (a) and all-adjusted means (b) of blood lead and blood cadmium levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Diagnostic evaluation of the infertile female: A committee opinion. Fertil. Steril. 2015;103:e44–e50. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.03.019. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Boivin J., Bunting L., Collins J.A., Nygren K.G. International estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: Potential need and demand for infertility medical care. Hum. Reprod. 2007;22:1506–1512. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dem046. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thoma M.E., McLain A.C., Louis J.F., King R.B., Trumble A.C., Sundaram R., Buck Louis G.M. Prevalence of infertility in the United States as estimated by the current duration approach and a traditional constructed approach. Fertil. Steril. 2013;99:1324–1331.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.11.037. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Center for Health Statistics National Survey of Family Growth. [(accessed on 29 August 2019)]; Available online: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics/i.htm#infertility.
    1. Berek J.S., Novak E., Berek D.L. Berek & Novak’s Gynecology. 16th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Philadelphia, PA, USA: 2019. pp. 942–1000.

Publication types