Interactions between cadmium and zinc in the biological samples of Pakistani smokers and nonsmokers cardiovascular disease patients

Comparison of Heavy Metals in Urine Samples of Smoker and Non-smoker Persons

In this study, the concentrations of heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) in the two groups of cigarette smokers and non-smokers in five age range groups were measured. Heavy metal concentrations were collected in participants' urine samples and analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The results showed that the concentrations of these metals in the urine of smokers were higher than in non-smoker subjects. The mean concentration of Cd, Cr, and Pb for smokers were 1.188 ± 0.931, 1.929 ± 0.940, and 0.069 ± 0.023, respectively, while the mean concentration of Cd, Cr, and Pb for non-smokers were 0.151 ± 0.165, 0.203 ± 0.218, and 0.037 ± 0.030, respectively. The results revealed statistically significant differences when comparing the samples of smokers to the control group in all heavy metals in the present study. Also, the results revealed statistically significant differences in Cd, Cr, and Pb when comparing the samples of smokers to age groups. The trend of metals in urine samples in two groups (smokers and non-smokers) is as follows: Cd > Cr > Pb. The concentration of Cd, Cr, and Pb in all samples of the present study was higher than the biological limit, according to ACGIH. Therefore, Cd, Cr, and Pb were the most critical metals accumulated in the urine of cigarette smokers.

Nonlinear associations between dietary zinc intake and cardiovascular disease risk, a National cross-sectional study based on the NHANES 2005-2018

Objective

To explore the associations between dietary zinc intake and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary heart disease (CHD), angina, heart attack, and cerebrovascular accident (CVA), this study was performed.

Setting

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2018) were used in this study. Dietary zinc intake was stratified into quartiles. Restricted cubic splines were constructed to assess nonlinear associations and identify cut-off values based on the type of nonlinearity. Binary logistic regressions were performed using the cut-offs.

Results

Positive associations were detected between the second, third, and fourth quantiles of dietary zinc intake and decreased risks of overall CVDs (Q2: OR = 0.83, 95 % CI = 0.72-0.96; Q3: OR = 0.83, 95 % CI = 0.71-0.96; Q4: OR = 0.79, 95 % CI = 0.67-0.93). The second, third, and fourth quantiles were significantly associated with decreased risks of various CVDs (all P < 0.05), except for CHD and angina (all P > 0.05). Restricted cubic spline regression revealed significant nonlinear trends for associations of dietary zinc intake with the risk of developing CVDs and CHF (both P for nonlinear <0.05), whereas those for heart attack and CVA were marginally significant (P for nonlinear = 0.072, and 0.075, respectively).

Conclusions

This study revealed that high dietary zinc intake is associated with reduced risks of developing CVDs, CHF, heart attack, and CVA, but not CHD or angina.

Cadmium and Lead Hazardous Impact Assessment of Pond Fish Species

The current study aims to assess the concentration of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in five tissues of Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeo rohita, and Catla catla collected from fishponds of Jamshoro and Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan. Meanwhile, the levels of Cd and Pb in feeding materials, water, and sediments of fishponds of both areas were also studied. The daily intake and hazardous impact assessment of Cd and Pb by muscles of three fish species of fishponds of both areas were estimated. The concentration of Cd in tissues of C. mrigala and C. catla of Larkana were higher than that in tissues of same fish species of Jamshoro whilst Pb contents in tissues of fishes of Jamshoro were high (p > 0.05). The feeding materials of fishponds of Larkana were enriched with Cd whilst Pb was high in feeding material of fishponds of Jamshoro. The estimated bioaccumulation factor, average daily intake, and hazardous quotient of Pb were high as compared to Cd in all studied fish species of fishponds of Larkana and Jamshoro. The hazardous quotient of Pb indicated that the local population of both areas might have a potential toxic risk. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Blood Cadmium Level Is Associated with Short Progression-Free Survival in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

The prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is poor with disease progression. Cadmium exposure is a risk factor for NPC. We aimed to investigate the effect of cadmium exposure, by measuring cadmium level, and clinicopathologic factors on NPC disease progression and prognosis. A total of 134 NPC cases were analyzed and venous blood samples were collected. Blood cadmium level was analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Clinical data were collected at baseline for patients and tumor characteristics from medical records. Progression-free survival (PFS) was analyzed during follow-up. The effect of cadmium exposure and clinical factors on PFS was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression models. Blood cadmium level was associated with history of disease and smoking history and pack-years. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, a high blood cadmium level, male sex, smoking history and increasing pack-years, as well as advanced clinical stage were all associated with short PFS. On multivariate analysis, blood cadmium level was an independent risk factor and predictor of NPC prognosis and disease progression. Cadmium exposure and related clinical factors can affect the prognosis of NPC, which merits further study to clarify.

Trace Element and Heavy Metal Levels in Colorectal Cancer: Comparison Between Cancerous and Non-cancerous Tissues

Cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) have increased dramatically in Middle Eastern and other Asian countries. Many studies indicate an important role of environmental factors, including trace elements as an etiology of cancer. This study aims to assess the concentration of eight trace elements in cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous tissues in case of CRC. In a cross-sectional study, conducted between March 2015 and February 2016, zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), tin (Sn), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe) levels were evaluated among patients suffering from CRC. All the patients underwent a full colonoscopy. Multiple samples were taken from cancerous lesions and adjacent healthy tissues that kept a minimum distance of 10 cm from the lesions. These specimens were kept at -80 °C. The classic flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) method was applied in this study. The mean age of the study population was 55.6 ± 12.8. The median of Zn, Cr, Cu, Al, and Pb in cancerous tissues was significantly higher than that of healthy tissues (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, the median of Mn, Sn, and Fe was significantly lower than that of non-cancerous tissues (P < 0.05). Between colon and rectal specimens, we did not find a difference between Cr and Al levels and Zn, Sn, and Cu levels in cancerous and healthy tissues, respectively. We revealed that gender and history of smoking may influence the level of some trace elements. We revealed that the levels of eight elements were significantly different for cancerous and healthy tissues. This may play a role in developing CRC. These findings reflect the importance of environmental pollution in this setting.

Chemometric Evaluation of Elemental Imbalances in the Scalp Hair of Valvular Heart Disease Patients in Comparison with Healthy Donors

The present study deals with the plausible association between the trace elemental imbalances and the emergence of valvular heart disease (VHD). A total of 14 elements including Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Pb, Sr and Zn in the scalp hair of VHD patients and healthy donors were analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrophometry employing wet acid digestion methodology. Median levels of Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn and Sr in the scalp hair of patients were significantly higher compared to those of the healthy donors, while the median concentrations of K and Na were found to be considerably higher in the scalp hair of the healthy donors. In addition, substantially elevated Cu/Zn value in patients indicated the prevalence of inflammatory processes inside the body. The correlation coefficients among the elements in the hair of VHD patients were significantly diverse compared to those of the healthy donors. Multivariate statistical methods showed noticeably dissimilar apportionment of the elements in the two groups. Variations in the elemental levels were also observed with gender, habitat, dietary/smoking habits and occupations of both donor groups. Overall, the study revealed significant imbalances among the essential and toxic elements in the scalp hair of VHD patients compared to those of the healthy subjects.

Environmental biomonitoring of essential and toxic elements in human scalp hair using accelerated microwave-assisted sample digestion and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy

Human scalp hair samples were collected and used to assess exposure to toxic elements and essential elements in the state of North Carolina, USA using accelerated microwave assisted acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The figures-of-merit of the ICP-OES were appropriate for elemental analysis in scalp hair with detection limits as low as 0.0001 mg/L for Cd, good linearity (R² > 0.9978), and percent recoveries that ranged from 96 to 106% for laboratory-fortified-blanks and 88-112% for sample spike recovery study. The concentrations of essential elements in scalp hair were larger than those of toxic elements, with Ca having the highest average concentration (3080 μg/g, s = 14,500, n = 194). Some of the maximum concentrations observed for As (65 μg/g), Ni (331 μg/g), Cd (2.96 μg/g), and Cr (84.6 μg/g) in individual samples were concerning, however. Samples were statistically analyzed to determine the influence of race, gender, smoking habits, or age on the elemental concentrations in scalp hair. Higher concentrations of essential elements were observed in the scalp hair of Caucasians, females, and non-smokers, and the differences were often significant at a 90% confidence level. Several pairs of essential elements, for example Ca-K, Ca-Mg, and Ca-Zn, were strongly correlated in Caucasian hair but uncorrelated in African-American hair. Similarly, essential elements were strongly correlated in female hair but weakly correlated in male hair. Toxic element pairs (As-Cd, As-Se, Pb-As, and Se-Cd) were strongly correlated in the hair of smokers but uncorrelated in that of non-smokers, suggesting that cigarette smoke is a common source of toxic elements in humans.

Cadmium exposure and clinical cardiovascular disease: a systematic review

Mounting evidence supports that cadmium, a toxic metal found in tobacco, air and food, is a cardiovascular risk factor. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review of epidemiologic studies evaluating the association between cadmium exposure and cardiovascular disease. Twelve studies were identified. Overall, the pooled relative risks (95% confidence interval) for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease were: 1.36 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.66), 1.30 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.52), 1.18 (95% CI: 0.86, 1.59), and 1.49 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.92), respectively. The pooled relative risks for cardiovascular disease in men, women and never smokers were 1.29 (1.12, 1.48), 1.20 (0.92, 1.56) and 1.27 (0.97, 1.67), respectively. Together with experimental evidence, our review supports the association between cadmium exposure and cardiovascular disease, especially for coronary heart disease. The number of studies with stroke, heart failure (HF) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) endpoints was small. More studies, especially studies evaluating incident endpoints, are needed.

Risk of laryngeal and nasopharyngeal cancer associated with arsenic and cadmium in the Tunisian population

Chronic exposure to heavy metals has long been recognized as being capable of increasing head and neck cancer (HNC) incidence, such as laryngeal (LC) and nasopharyngeal (NPC), among exposed human populations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the concentrations of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in the blood of 145 patients (LC and NPC) and 351 controls in order to establish a potential relationship between these factors and the occurrence of LC and NPC. Mean blood levels of As and Cd in patients (5.67 and 3.51 μg/L, respectively) were significantly higher than those of controls (1.57 and 0.74 μg/L, respectively). The blood levels of As and Cd were mostly significantly higher than those of controls (p<0.05) after controlling the other risk factors of HNC including tobacco smoking and chewing, and alcohol drinking. Cd levels in blood increase significantly with the number of occupational exposure years for patients (p<0.05). However, seafood was not found to be contributing as an exposure source. Among these risk factors, smoking (>30 pack years) and occupational exposure (>20 years) presented the most significant association with HNC (OR=10.22 and 10.38, respectively, p<0.001). Cd level in blood sample of cases that are occupationally exposed/tobacco users (smokers and chewers) were higher than that of non-occupationally exposed/nontobacco users (p<0.001). The logistic regression model illustrated that HNC (LC+NPC) was significantly associated with blood levels of As (OR=2.41, p<0.001) and Cd (OR=4.95, p<0.001).

Evaluation of metal contents of household detergent samples from Turkey by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The concentrations of cadmium, copper, chromium, cobalt, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, and zinc in detergent samples from Kayseri, Turkey were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. HClO₄ (10 mL)/HNO₃ (10 mL) mixture was used for the digestion of household detergent samples. The correctness of the analytical procedures was checked with standard addition-recovery tests in different detergent samples for the investigated metal ions. The concentration ranges of the elements in the detergent samples were found as 17.2-60.1, 11.1-40.1, 2.5-32.3, 8.1-10.5, 7.2-21.6, 9.8-17.9, 1.7-3.8, 12.5-22.5, and 2.0-5.8 μg/g for iron, manganese, zinc, copper, lead, cobalt, cadmium, nickel, and chromium, respectively. The values found in this work were compared with some other studies around the world conducted on detergent samples.

Circulating levels of metals are related to carotid atherosclerosis in elderly

The aim of this study was to investigate if blood levels of trace and/or heavy metals are related to atherosclerosis in a cross-sectional study in elderly. In the population-based Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study (1016 subjects, all aged 70), the prevalence of carotid artery plaques was recorded by ultrasound. The numbers of carotid arteries with plaques (0, 1 or 2) were recorded. Also the thickness (IMT) and gray scale (IM-GSM) of the intima-media complex were measured together with plaque echogenicity. Eleven heavy metals and trace elements were analyzed in whole blood, using inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry. Nickel levels were related to the number of carotid arteries with plaques in an inverted U-shaped manner after multiple adjustment for gender, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL and LDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides, smoking, antihypertensive treatment and statin use (p=0.026). IM-GSM and plaque echogenicity were both inversely related to chromium in a linear fashion, and to aluminum in an inverted U-shaped manner (both p<0.0001 for IM-GSM). The relationships between metals and IMT were modest. Circulating levels of some metals, like nickel, aluminum and chromium, were related to atherosclerotic plaques or the echogenicity of the IM-GSM and overt plaques independently of cardiovascular risk factors, including lipids.

Gender differences for associations between circulating levels of metals and coronary risk in the elderly

Several studies have pointed out associations between various metals and cardiovascular disease. Since cardiovascular disease prevalence is different between males and females, we investigated whether circulating levels of metals related differently to coronary risk in men and women. In the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study, coronary risk was assessed by the Framingham Risk Score together with circulating blood levels of 11 different trace and heavy metals in 1016 subjects aged 70 years. Circulating levels of cadmium, copper and manganese were significantly higher in women than in men, while mercury, zinc and lead were significantly lower following adjustment for kidney function (measured by glomerular filtration rate, GFR). No significant differences between women and men were seen regarding levels of aluminium, molybdenum, cobalt, chromium and nickel. When all 11 metals were entered as independent variables together with GFR in multiple models in the Framingham Risk Score as the dependent variable, cadmium was the major determinant of the Framingham Risk Score in women (p<0.0001, followed by zinc p=0.03), while copper was the major determinant of the Framingham Risk Score in men (p<0.0001, followed by inverse relations vs. aluminium p=0.01 and nickel p=0.01). There are gender differences in levels of metals and also regarding the association between metals and coronary risk, with cadmium levels being most important for women and copper levels for men in this elderly population.