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

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Soonchunhyang University Research Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, South Korea

    Byung-Kook Lee

  2. Cheonan Medical Center, Cheonan, South Korea

    Byung-Kook Lee

  3. Department of Medical IT Engineering, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, South Korea

    Jaeouk Ahn

  4. Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, South Korea

    Nam-Soo Kim

  5. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 290-3 Cheonha-Dong, Dong-Gu, Ulsan, 682-060, South Korea

    Chan Boo Lee & Yangho Kim

  6. Department of Occupational Health, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, South Korea

    Jungsun Park

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  1. Byung-Kook Lee
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Correspondence to Yangho Kim.

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Byung-Kook Lee and Jaeouk Ahn contributed equally to this study.

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Lee, BK., Ahn, J., Kim, NS. et al. Association of Blood Pressure with Exposure to Lead and Cadmium: Analysis of Data from the 2008–2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Biol Trace Elem Res 174, 40–51 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-016-0699-y

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