Impact of cadmium exposure on male sex hormones: a population-based study in ChinaShow others and affiliations
2004 (English)In: Environmental Research, ISSN 0013-9351, E-ISSN 1096-0953, Vol. 96, no 3, p. 338-344Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The objective of this study was to investigate the possible effects of environmental cadmium (Cd) exposure on the levels of serumsex hormones in a Chinese population group. A total of 263 male volunteers were included. Blood samples were collected for thedetermination of serum testosterone (T), measured by radioimmunoassay, and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizinghormone (LH), both measured by enzyme immunoassays. Urinary and blood Cd were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy(AAS). We found a dose–response relationship between urinary Cd excretion and the prevalence of abnormally high serum T levels,but, through multiple regression analysis, we could not trace exposure to Cd as a significant determinant of serum T levels. Exposureto Cd also failed to influence the levels of FSH and LH in serum. In contrast, we found that age, body mass index (BMI), andsmoking habits are significant determinants of FSH and LH and of T and LH, respectively. We conclude that oral Cd exposure isnot a critical determinant of hormone homeostasis in males, but lifestyle and some biological factors, such as age and BMI, areimportant. The relationship found between urinary Cd and high T levels may be of importance for male reproductive morbidity andshould be investigated further.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2004. Vol. 96, no 3, p. 338-344
Keywords [en]
Cadmium pollution, Testosterone, Luteinizing hormone, Follicle-stimulating hormone, Human population
National Category
Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-18062DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2004.02.004PubMedID: 15364602Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-4644293909OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-18062DiVA, id: diva2:157735
2007-11-272007-11-272024-05-06Bibliographically approved