Arterial structure and function and environmental exposure to cadmium

Abstract

Objectives: Few studies have addressed the effect of cadmium toxicity on arterial properties.

Methods: We investigated the possible association of 24 h urinary cadmium excretion (an index of lifetime exposure) with measures of arterial function in a randomly selected population sample (n  557) from two rural areas with low and high environmental exposure to cadmium.

Results: 24 h urinary cadmium excretion was significantly higher in the high compared with the low exposure group (p<0.001). Even though systolic (p  0.42), diastolic (p  0.14) and mean arterial pressure (p  0.68) did not differ between the high and low exposure groups, aortic pulse wave velocity (p  0.008), brachial pulse pressure (p  0.026) and femoral pulse pressure (p  0.008) were significantly lower in the high exposure group. Additionally, femoral distensibility (p<0.001) and compliance (p  0.001) were significantly higher with high exposure. Across quartiles of 24 h urinary cadmium excretion (adjusted for sex and age), brachial (p for trend  0.015) and femoral (p for trend  0.018) pulse pressure significantly decreased and femoral distensibility (p for trend  0.008) and compliance (p for trend  0.007) significantly increased with higher cadmium excretion. After full adjustment, the partial regression coefficients confirmed these associations. Pulse wave velocity (β  −0.79±0.27; p  0.004) and carotid (β  −4.20±1.51; p  0.006), brachial (β  −5.43±1.41; p  0.001) and femoral (β  −4.72±1.74; p  0.007) pulse pressures correlated negatively, whereas femoral compliance (β  0.11±0.05; p  0.016) and distensibility (β  1.70±0.70; p  0.014) correlated positively with cadmium excretion.

Conclusion: Increased cadmium body burden is associated with lower aortic pulse wave velocity, lower pulse pressure throughout the arterial system, and higher femoral distensibility.