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The Effects of Lead and Cadmium Co-exposure on Serum Ions in Residents Living Near a Mining and Smelting Area in Northwest China

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated the associations between cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) co-exposure, and serum ion levels in two populations living near a mining/smelting area and a nature reserve (control area), respectively. A total of 445 participants were included in this study. Their blood cadmium (BCd), blood lead (BPb), and serum ion levels were determined, and the association between exposure levels and serum ion levels was analyzed. The exposure levels of subjects living in the polluted area were significantly higher (p < 0.001). Lower levels of potassium, inorganic phosphorus, and iron were observed in subjects from the polluted area, whereas their sodium and chloride levels were higher (p < 0.01). The anion gap in their serum was also significantly lower. We observed positive dose–effect relationships between Cd and/or Pb exposure and serum sodium and chloride, and negative dose–effect relationships between Cd and/or Pb exposure and serum inorganic phosphorus, iron, as well as the anion gap. High Cd–Pb, high Cd, and high Pb exposure led to modification effects in potassium, calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and iron levels, and the anion gap. No synergistic effects were observed in our results. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that Cd and Pb exposure, alone or in combination, can lead to serum ion imbalances.

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Data Availability

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Elisabete Weiderpass Vainio of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO and Prof. Ula Ali Mohamed Nur of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, for their instruction and assistance. We thank the research nurses in the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, for their assistance in blood sample collection. We thank postgraduates and undergraduates of surgery, the First School of Clinical Medical, Lanzhou University and postgraduates of the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, for their help in questionnaire surveys and data collection. We thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 31570509, 32060289, and 81872578); Key Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province (grant number: No. 1602FKDA001); Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (grant number: No. 20JR10RA699); and Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province (grant number: No. 18JR2TA018); Gansu fund project for guiding scientific and technological innovation and development (GCK[2018]No.32).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Qian Luo, Honglong Zhang, Haiping Wang, Li Ma, Min Huang, Jun Yan & Xun Li

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

    Haiping Wang, Jun Yan & Xun Li

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

    Jingping Niu & Bin Luo

  4. Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, No.1 Donggang West Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yan & Xun Li

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  1. Qian Luo
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  2. Honglong Zhang
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  3. Haiping Wang
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  4. Li Ma
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  8. Jun Yan
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  9. Xun Li
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Contributions

Conceptualization and methodology: J.Y., J.N., B.L.; formal analysis and writing—original draft preparation: Q.L., H.Z., H.W.; data curation: L.M. and M.H.; investigation: all authors; supervision: J.Y.; project administration: X.L. and J.Y.; funding acquisition: X.L. and J.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun Yan.

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Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the First Hospital of Lanzhou University Medical Ethics Committee (ethical codes: LDYYLL2015-0027, LDYYLL2020-103).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The informed consent was written.

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Not applicable.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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Qian Luo and Honglong Zhang are joint first authors and contributed equally to this work

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Luo, Q., Zhang, H., Wang, H. et al. The Effects of Lead and Cadmium Co-exposure on Serum Ions in Residents Living Near a Mining and Smelting Area in Northwest China. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 3932–3940 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02991-w

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