Cadmium exposure induces hematuria in Korean adults.

Introduction: Toxic heavy metals have adverse effects on human health. However, the risk of hematuria caused by heavy metal exposure has not been evaluated.
Methods: Data from 4701 Korean adults were obtained in the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2008-2010). Blood levels of the toxic heavy metals cadmium, lead, and mercury were measured. Hematuria was defined as a result of ≥+1 on a urine dipstick test. The odds ratios (ORs) for hematuria were measured according to the blood heavy metal levels after adjusting for multiple variables.
Results: Individuals with blood cadmium levels in the 3rd and 4th quartiles had a greater OR for hematuria than those in the 1st quartile group: 3rd quartile, 1.35 (1.019-1.777; P=0.037); 4th quartile, 1.52 (1.140-2.017; P=0.004). When blood cadmium was considered as a log-transformed continuous variable, the correlation between blood cadmium and hematuria was significant: OR, 1.97 (1.224-3.160; Ptrend=0.005). In contrast, no significant correlations between hematuria and blood lead or mercury were found in the multivariate analyses.
Discussion: The present study shows that high cadmium exposure is associated with a risk of hematuria.
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