Cadmium Exposure and Kidney Stone Formation in the General Population—An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III Data

Abstract

Cadmium exposure has been associated with a greater risk of kidney stone formation in occupational exposure studies, but data on such an association in the general population are scarce. We assessed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 1988 to 1994 in terms of the risk of stone formation. Persons reporting a history of kidney stones were defined as stone formers (n=749), and the association between a positive history of kidney stones and high environmental cadmium exposure levels (defined as urinary cadmium >1 μg/g) was analyzed by logistic regression analysis, stratifying by sex and adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, smoking habits, region of residence, and daily intake of calcium and sodium. The odds ratio of lithiasis associated with urinary cadmium >1 μg/g was 1.40 (95% confidence interval 1.06, 1.86) in females (P = 0.019). The association between urinary cadmium and kidney stones was not significant in males. These findings suggest that moderately high levels of urinary cadmium are associated with a greater propensity for kidney stone formation in females in the general population.