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The current status of osteoporosis after 15 years of reduced cadmium exposure among residents living in cadmium-contaminated areas in northwestern Thailand

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Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis after 15 years of reduced cadmium exposure and to determine the association between urinary cadmium (U-Cd) and osteoporosis. The study was conducted with 937 participants (109 males, 828 females) living in a cadmium-contaminated area in northwestern Thailand. All participants were required to respond to a questionnaire. Bone mineral density (BMD) was investigated by measurements taken at the calcaneus by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. U-Cd, which reflects the amount of cadmium contained in the body, was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The geometric mean of U-Cd was significantly higher in males than in females (p < 0.001). The mean level of BMD for females was found to be statistically significantly lower than that for males (p < 0.001). Increasing U-Cd levels were correlated with decreasing levels of BMD. The association between U-Cd and osteoporosis appeared to exist only at concentrations of U-Cd ≥ 10 μg/g creatinine (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.2–5.9). It can be concluded that despite discontinued or reduced cadmium exposure for more than 10 years, the effect of cadmium toxicity on bone, which is stronger in women, continues, as cadmium, once absorbed, will accumulate in the human body for a long time due to its extremely long half-life.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from Mae Sot General Hospital, but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study and so are not publicly available. Data are, however, available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission from Mae Sot General Hospital.

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Funding

The project was financed by the Royal Irrigation Department.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand

    Aroon La-up

  2. Mae Sot General Hospital, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand

    Pranee Mahasakpan

  3. School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

    Udomsak Saengow

Authors
  1. Aroon La-up
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  2. Pranee Mahasakpan
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  3. Udomsak Saengow
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Aroon La-up, Pranee Mahasakpan, and Udomsak Saengow. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Aroon La-up, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aroon La-up.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee on Human Research of the Tak Provincial Public Health Office. The approval number was TAKREC-007/2562.

Consent to participate

Every sample for the study received an explanation about the purpose of this endeavor and the research procedure before signing an informed consent to participate in the research.

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Not applicable.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Lotfi Aleya

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La-up, A., Mahasakpan, P. & Saengow, U. The current status of osteoporosis after 15 years of reduced cadmium exposure among residents living in cadmium-contaminated areas in northwestern Thailand. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 20121–20127 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12118-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12118-8

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