Blood and urine levels of heavy metal pollutants in female and male patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract

BackgroundHeavy metal pollutants such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) are rarely the subjects of cardiovascular research although they have been suspected for decades to negatively impact the circulatory system.MethodsApart from detailed anamnestic data, urinary levels of Cd and full blood levels of Pb and Hg were measured in 53 female (mean age: 68.04±7.03 years) and 111 male (mean age: 60.68±11.43 years) nonsmoking or never-smoking patients with angiographically verified and precisely quantified coronary artery disease (CAD).ResultsAlthough Cd was quantifiable in 68.3% of subjects, only 34.1% of these patients exceeded the critical 1 μg/L Human Biomonitoring (HBM)-I level. Median Pb (20 μg/L) and Hg (0.55 μg/L) levels were lower than the HBM-I, as well as reference levels of Pb. Wine consumption was the main source for Pb, fish and wine consumption for Hg, and previous nicotine abuse for Cd. There was no correlation between Cd, Pb, or Hg and severity of CAD although severity correlated positively with atherosclerosis parameters (uric acid, creatinine, triglycerides, blood urea nitrogen, C-reactive protein) and negatively with high density lipoprotein cholesterol.ConclusionCd levels detected in CAD patients were high compared to German and European reference levels but it could not be proven that urine levels of Cd and blood levels of Hg or Pb played a major role in the genesis of CAD, particularly when compared to well-known biomarkers such as blood pressure, glucose, and lipids.

Fish consumption, mercury exposure, and the risk of cholesterol profiles: findings from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2011

“…Chronic MeHg exposure is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cholesterol profiles [ 11 ]. It has been reported that Hg increases the risk of hypertension, carotid atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction [ 12 - 15 ]. It has also been reported that the Hg level in the body is significantly associated with increases in serum ferritin, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and waist to hip ratio [ 16 - 18 ].…”

Niveles de metales pesados en muestras biológicas y su importancia en salud

“…En arterosclerosis coronaria existen múltiples factores de riesgos considerados, entre los cuales se incluye la exposición a metales como el cadmio, el plomo y el mercurio; sin embargo, estos metales no han sido estudiados comúnmente en investigación cardiovascular [85], pero sí existen estudios en los que ya se han realizado algunas de estas mediciones. En ocasiones, el monitoreo de los niveles de metales es de gran utilidad cuando se requiere dar seguimiento a exposiciones ambientales en trabajadores del sector industrial, relacionándolos con algunos hábitos y su estilo de vida; los elementos evaluados suelen ser cadmio, cromo, manganeso, níquel y plomo en matrices biológicas como sangre, orina, vello axilar y saliva [63].…”

Association of Geography and Ambient Air Pollution with Urine Metal Concentrations in Six US Cities: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

“…Experimental and epidemiologic evidence support that low-to-moderate chronic exposure to certain toxic metals plays a role in the development of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, neurocognitive outcomes and also some cancers [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Cadmium has been associated with cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and some cancers [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Antimony and tungsten have been linked to cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, and diabetes [ 2 , 6 , 7 ].…”