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Effects of lead and cadmium co-exposure on liver function in residents near a mining and smelting area in northwestern China

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Abstract

Chronic exposure to environmental cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) may have adverse effects on the human health. In this study, we aimed to determine the primary and interactive effects of Cd and Pb exposure on liver function in residents near a mining and smelting area in northwestern China. A total of 451 subjects were recruited, from which blood samples were collected to determine the levels of Cd, Pb, and liver function indices. Additionally, the association between the levels of exposure markers and liver function indices was analysed. Cd and Pb levels were significantly higher in subjects living in the polluted area than in those living in the non-polluted reference area. The liver function levels of subjects in the polluted area were poor compared with those in the reference area. In addition, Cd and Pb levels in the blood were positively associated with gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels and negatively associated with direct bilirubin (DBil) levels. Cd and Pb may be risk factors for abnormal liver function. The risk of abnormal liver function was higher in subjects with moderate Cd and Pb levels, high Cd levels, high Pb levels, and high Cd and Pb levels than in those with low Cd and Pb levels. Our data show that exposure to Cd and/or Pb can cause abnormal liver function. Cd and Pb may have an antagonistic effect on liver function, and high Cd exposure alone has a more profound effect on abnormal liver function compared with co-exposure to Pb and Cd.

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Acknowledgements

We express thanks to all the participants, postgraduates of the Lanzhou University, research nurses in the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, and all members of the study team.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32060289, No. 81872578), Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (No. 20JR10RA699), and Science and Technology Foundation of Gansu Province (No. 18JR2TA018).

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Author notes

  1. Jun Yan and Honglong Zhang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, No. 1 Donggang West Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730030, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yan, Haiping Wang & Xun Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yan, Haiping Wang & Xun Li

  3. The First School of Clinical Medical, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yan, Honglong Zhang, Haiping Wang, Meng Tian & Xun Li

  4. Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery Institute of Gansu Province, Medical College Cancer Center of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yan, Haiping Wang & Xun Li

  5. Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Jingping Niu & Bin Luo

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  1. Jun Yan
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  2. Honglong Zhang
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Contributions

JY contributed to conceptualization, investigation, writing—review and editing, and funding acquisition. HZ contributed to data curation, validation, investigation, and writing—original draft. JN contributed to methodology and funding acquisition. Bin Luo contributed to supervision and investigation. HW contributed to formal analysis and writing—review and editing. MT curated the data. XL contributed to supervision, project administration, resources, and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Xun Li.

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Yan, J., Zhang, H., Niu, J. et al. Effects of lead and cadmium co-exposure on liver function in residents near a mining and smelting area in northwestern China. Environ Geochem Health 44, 4173–4189 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01177-6

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