Cadmium and Cadmium/Zinc Ratios and Tobacco-Related Morbidities

Abstract

Metals are one of five major categories of carcinogenic or toxic constituents in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Cadmium is highly volatile and a higher percentage of the total tobacco cadmium content is efficiently transferred to mainstream tobacco smoke than many other toxic metals in tobacco. Inhaled cadmium bioaccumulates in the lungs and is distributed beyond the lungs to other tissues, with a total body biological half-life of one to two decades. Chronic cadmium exposure through tobacco use elevates blood and urine cadmium concentrations. Cadmium is a carcinogen, and an inducer of proinflammatory immune responses. Elevated exposure to cadmium is associated with reduced pulmonary function, obstructive lung disease, bronchogenic carcinoma, cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, pancreatic cancer, and various oral pathologies. Cadmium and zinc have a toxicologically inverse relationship. Zinc is an essential element and is reportedly antagonistic to some manifestations of cadmium toxicity. This review summarizes associations between blood, urine, and tissue cadmium concentrations with emphasis on cadmium exposure due to tobacco use and several disease states. Available data about zinc and cadmium/zinc ratios and tobacco-related diseases is summarized from studies reporting smoking status. Collectively, data suggest that blood, urine, and tissue cadmium and cadmium/zinc ratios are often significantly different between smokers and nonsmokers and they are also different in smokers for several diseases and cancers. Additional biomonitoring data such as blood or serum and urine zinc and cadmium levels and cadmium/zinc ratios in smokers may provide further insight into the development and progression of diseases of the lung, cardiovascular system, and possibly other organs.

Toxic elements in packed red blood cells from smoker donors: a risk for paediatric transfusion?

“…Numerous toxic substances present in cigarettes are transferred to the blood and subsequently to PRBCs and to the eventual recipient . Here, we screened for potentially toxic elements in the PRBCs from smoker and non‐smoker donors.…”

Metal dyshomeostasis based biomarkers of lung cancer using human biofluids

“…Cadmium is recognized as a human carcinogen, a classification mainly based on occupational studies of lung cancer 49 . Cadmium levels in urine, serum and blood of smokers has previously proposed as a marker for the development and progression of lung diseases 50 and it has also found to be increased in the urine of cancer patients 28,29 . The National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a mean urine cadmium concentration of 0.172 µg/L (0.199 µg/g creatinine) for nonsmokers versus 0.308 µg/L (0.336 µg/g creatinine) for smokers in the U.S. population (not stratified by age) 51 .…”

Endocrine pancreas in rats chronically treated with Cadmium

“…Takođe važan izvor ekspozicije kadmijumu je i duvanski dim. Procenjeno je da se preko duvanskog dima oko 50% kadmijuma apsorbuje iz pluća u sistemsku cirkulaciju 7 .…”