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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine

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Open Access 01-12-2019 | Research article

Hospital-based screening to detect patients with cadmium nephropathy in cadmium-polluted areas in Japan

Authors: Toru Sasaki, Hyogo Horiguchi, Akira Arakawa, Etsuko Oguma, Atsushi Komatsuda, Kenichi Sawada, Katsuyuki Murata, Kazuhito Yokoyama, Takehisa Matsukawa, Momoko Chiba, Yuki Omori, Norihiro Kamikomaki

Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine | Issue 1/2019

Abstract

Background

In health examinations for local inhabitants in cadmium-polluted areas, only healthy people are investigated, suggesting that patients with severe cadmium nephropathy or itai-itai disease may be overlooked. Therefore, we performed hospital-based screening to detect patients with cadmium nephropathy in two core medical institutes in cadmium-polluted areas in Akita prefecture, Japan.

Methods

Subjects for this screening were selected from patients aged 60 years or older with elevated serum creatinine levels and no definite renal diseases. We enrolled 35 subjects from a hospital in Odate city and 22 from a clinic in Kosaka town. Urinary ß₂-microglobulin and blood and urinary cadmium levels were measured.

Results

The criteria for renal tubular dysfunction and the over-accumulation of cadmium were set as a urinary ß₂-microglobulin level higher than 10,000 μg/g cr. and a blood cadmium level higher than 6 μg/L or urinary cadmium level higher than 10 μg/g cr., respectively. Subjects who fulfilled both criteria were diagnosed with cadmium nephropathy. Six out of 57 patients (10.5% of all subjects) had cadmium nephropathy.

Conclusions

This hospital-based screening is a very effective strategy for detecting patients with cadmium nephropathy in cadmium-polluted areas, playing a complementary role in health examinations for local inhabitants.

Registration number

No. 6, date of registration: 6 June, 2010 (Akita Rosai Hospital), and No. 1117, date of registration: 26 December, 2013 (Akita University).

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Title: Hospital-based screening to detect patients with cadmium nephropathy in cadmium-polluted areas in Japan
Authors: Toru Sasaki
Hyogo Horiguchi
Akira Arakawa
Etsuko Oguma
Atsushi Komatsuda
Kenichi Sawada
Katsuyuki Murata
Kazuhito Yokoyama
Takehisa Matsukawa
Momoko Chiba
Yuki Omori
Norihiro Kamikomaki
Publication date: 01-12-2019
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine / Issue 1/2019
Print ISSN: 1342-078X
Electronic ISSN: 1347-4715
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-019-0762-3

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Hospital-based screening to detect patients with cadmium nephropathy in cadmium-polluted areas in Japan

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Registration number

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Registration number

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