The relationship between lead and cadmium levels and functional dependence among elderly participants

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 6; pp. 5932 - 5940
• Main Authors: Chen, Yuan-Yuei, Wang, Chung-Ching, Kao, Tung-Wei, Wu, Chen-Jung, Chen, Ying-Jen, Lai, Ching-Huang, Zhou, Yi-Chao, Chen, Wei-Liang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atomic absorption analysis; Atomic absorption spectroscopy; Cadmium; Cadmium - metabolism; Dependence; Disabilities; Disabled Persons; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Environmental Health; Environmental Pollutants - metabolism; Environmental science; Exposure; Female; Geriatrics; Humans; Lead - metabolism; Lead poisoning; Male; Nutrition; Nutrition Surveys; Older people; Quartiles; Regression analysis; Regression models; Research Article; Spectral analysis; Spectrometry; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Disability; Lead; Cadmium; Functional dependence
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-07381-3

The adverse impacts of lead and cadmium exposure on health outcomes have been reported in the past. Few studies have been conducted on the relationship between lead and cadmium exposures and disability. We evaluated whether lead and cadmium exposures were associated with functional dependence including the total number of disabilities, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), leisure and social activities (LSA), lower extremity mobility (LEM), and general physical activities (GPA) in an elderly population. A total of 5513 eligible subjects were enrolled in the study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2006. Serum lead and cadmium exposure assessments were performed using atomic absorption spectrometry. Functional dependence was assessed by 19 structured questions. The relationships between lead and cadmium exposures and functional dependence were investigated using by multivariable linear regression models. Q2, Q3, and Q4 of lead exposure were significantly associated with the total number of disabilities, with β coefficients of − 0.62 (95% CI − 0.99, − 0.24), − 0.64 (95% CI − 1.02, − 0.26), and − 0.81 (95% CI − 1.19, − 0.42), respectively. This relationship remained significant in males. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationships between lead and cadmium exposure quartiles and various functional dependence metrics, and we determined that lead content was significantly associated with decreased ADL, LEM, and GPA ( p  < 0.05) and cadmium content was inversely associated with ADL ( p  < 0.05). Our study demonstrated a strong relationship between exposure to lead and cadmium and functional dependence in an elderly population.