Abstract
The bone is one of the relevant target organs of heavy metals, and heavy metal toxicity is associated with several degenerative processes, such osteoporosis and bone mineral alterations, that could lead to fractures. We aimed to study a presumed relationship between bone density, evaluated by quantitative bone ultrasound (QUS), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and the dietary intake of cadmium, lead and mercury in healthy premenopausal women. A total of 158 healthy, non-smoking, premenopausal women were incorporated into the study. A validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was administered to assess intake during the preceding seven days. The median predicted dietary cadmium intake among the 158 women studied was 25.29 μg/day (18.62–35.00) and 2.74 μg/kg body weight/week (b.w./w) (1.92–3.83). Dietary lead intake was 43.85 μg/day (35.09–51.45) and 4.82 μg/kg b.w./w (3.67–6.13). The observed dietary mercury intake was 9.55 μg/day (7.18–13.57) and 1.02 μg/kg b.w./w (0.71–1.48). Comparisons, in terms of heavy metal intake, showed no significant results after further adjusting for energy intake. No statistically significant correlations between heavy metal intake and the QUS, DXA and pQCT parameters were observed. Levels of dietary exposure of cadmium, lead and mercury were mostly within the recommendations. We did not find associations between the QUS, DXA and pQCT parameters and the dietary intake of the studied heavy metals in healthy premenopausal women.
Highlights
Bone is one of the important target organs of heavy metals, and heavy metal toxicity is associated with several degenerative processes, such as osteoporosis and bone mineral alterations, that could lead to fractures [1,2]
After further adjustment for energy consumption, no significant differences were detected with regard to dietary iron, magnesium and copper in the cadmium subgroups (Table 1); the dietary intakes of vitamin D
To investigate the influences of dietary cadmium, lead and mercury in premenopausal women, we analyzed the dietary intake of 158 healthy participants and evaluated their bone health by the three most widely used techniques to date, quantitative bone ultrasound (QUS), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT)
Summary
Bone is one of the important target organs of heavy metals, and heavy metal toxicity is associated with several degenerative processes, such as osteoporosis and bone mineral alterations, that could lead to fractures [1,2]. Exposure to heavy metals occurs through various routes, and quantifying absorbed doses is complex because of the levels of absorption and metabolism [2]. Exposure duration varies widely among individuals, with polluted or fresh water, soil, dermal contact of soil, air, smoking, and food being the primary routes of exposure [2,3,4,5,6,7]. In the case of cadmium, for non-smokers, food consumption has been identified as the major pathway of cadmium exposure, accounting for 90% of the cadmium exposure compared to other routes of exposure [8,9]. Toxicity and the resulting threat to human health of any contaminant depends on the concentration; it is well known that sustained exposure to cadmium, lead and mercury at relatively. Public Health 2017, 14, 1437; doi:10.3390/ijerph14121437 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
