Association of Blood Pressure with Exposure to Lead and Cadmium: Analysis of Data from the 2008–2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

• DOI: 10.1007/s12011-016-0699-y
• Publication Date: 2016-04-18T02:28:50Z
• Authors: Byung-Kook Lee; Jaeouk Ahn; Nam-Soo Kim; Chan Boo Lee; Jungsun Park; Yangho Kim
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Blood Pressure; Environmental Exposure; Middle Aged; 01 natural sciences; 3. Good health; Sex Factors; Lead; Republic of Korea; Humans; Female; Cadmium; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

We examined the association of blood pressure with blood levels of cadmium, lead, and their combination in a representative sample of adults from South Korea (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008-2013). This cross-sectional study enrolled subjects who were at least 19 years-old, completed a health examination survey, and had blood measurements of lead and cadmium. We estimated the adjusted mean differences in diastolic and systolic blood pressure associated with doubling of blood lead and cadmium by regression of blood pressure against log2-transformed blood metals and their tertiles after covariate adjustment. Adjusted odds ratios for hypertension and prehypertension were calculated for log2-transformed blood levels of lead and cadmium and their tertiles. In the general population of Korea, blood lead level was associated with increased BP and risk of hypertension. Blood cadmium levels had a stronger association with elevated blood pressure and risk of hypertension than blood lead levels, and these associations remained significant after statistical adjustment for blood lead. The combination of blood lead and cadmium was more strongly associated with elevated blood pressure than exposure to each individual metal. In females, there was a stronger relationship between blood pressure and blood levels of these metals by analyzing interaction model. After adjustment for confounding factors, there were significant associations of blood pressure with the level of blood lead, cadmium, and their combination in adults from South Korea.