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Archives of Osteoporosis
Published in: Archives of Osteoporosis 1/2021

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Osteoporosis | Original Article

Association between blood cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Korean post-menopausal women

Authors: Eun-San Kim, Sangah Shin, Yoon Jae Lee, In-Hyuk Ha

Published in: Archives of Osteoporosis | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Summary

We aimed to investigate the association between cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Korean post-menopausal women. There was a significant positive association between cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis, but further studies for dose response are required.

Purpose

Cadmium exposure can exert detrimental effects on bone health, particularly in post-menopausal women. However, previous studies have failed to report an association in Korean post-menopausal women. We aimed to investigate the association between cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Korean post-menopausal women.

Methods

In total, 5432 participants from the 4th and 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were randomly sampled for measurements of heavy metal concentrations in the blood, bone mass density (BMD), and nutrient intake. We analyzed data for 1031 post-menopausal women ≥50 years of age. Blood cadmium levels were categorized into quartiles, and a multinomial logistic regression model was used for analysis.

Results

There was a significant positive association between cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis, but the odds ratio (OR) at the 4th level was lower than that at the 3rd level (OR and 95% confidence interval (CI) for osteopenia: 2nd quartile: 1.24, 0.88-1.74; 3rd quartile: 3.22, 2.24-4.64; 4th quartile: 1.27, 0.87-1.85; P for trend <0.001; OR and 95% CI for osteoporosis: 2nd quartile: 1.54, 1.05-2.25; 3rd quartile: 3.63, 2.31-5.69; 4th quartile: 1.70, 1.03-2.81; P for trend <0.001). This trend was consistent in the sensitivity analysis.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that there is an association between blood cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Korean post-menopausal women. However, further prospective studies are required to determine whether there is a dose-response relationship and address potential selection bias, especially in patients with femoral neck osteoporosis.
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Metadata
Title
Association between blood cadmium levels and the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Korean post-menopausal women
Authors
Eun-San Kim
Sangah Shin
Yoon Jae Lee
In-Hyuk Ha
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
Springer London
Published in
Archives of Osteoporosis / Issue 1/2021
Print ISSN: 1862-3522
Electronic ISSN: 1862-3514
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-021-00887-9

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