Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Dietary Exposure to Cadmium in Residents of Guangzhou, China—Young Children Potentially at a Health Risk

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) and its compounds are hazardous environmental pollutants with renal toxicity and human carcinogenicity, with ingestion of contaminated foods representing the major mode of exposure. There have been a number of reports evaluating the Cd content in various foods; however, regarding the actual risk posed by dietary cadmium exposure, only a few reports are available in which single point evaluation (less accurate than multiple point evaluation) was employed. In this study, we used a margin of exposure (MOE) model and @RISK software (for multiple evaluation) to evaluate Cd-related health risk in the local Guangzhou residents at varying ages, through a comparison between the estimated monthly exposures and the provisional tolerable monthly intake (0.025 mg/kg body weight (b.w.)), based on the Cd contents in various food categories available locally (a total of 3964 food samples were collected from each of the 13 districts of Guangzhou between 2015 and 2019), which were determined by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In this study, Cd was detected in 69.6% of the samples (averaged 0.120 mg/kg), and rice and its products, leafy vegetables, bivalves, and shrimp and crabs contributed most to Cd exposure (8.63, 3.18, 2.79, and 1.48 ng/kg b.w./day, respectively). The MOE values demonstrated the following tendency: the younger age group, the lower MOE, and its 95% confidence range for the (youngest) 3~6 year old group started from 0.92, indicating a health risk of young children, while that for the other age groups were all above 1.0. Our preliminary findings warrant further clarification using biomarker assays in the relevant population.

Cadmium Exposure in Aquatic Products and Health Risk Classification Assessment in Residents of Zhejiang, China

“…Our results are consistent with the exposure assessment in the adult population and preschool children in the Republic of Serbia [ 53 ]. A risk assessment of dietary Cd exposure to Cd in residents of Guangzhou demonstrated that young people had lower margin of exposure (MOE) values (0.92) and indicated a higher risk, while those for the other age groups were all above 1.0 [ 18 ]. Additionally, young children and infants may be exposed to more Cd because they eat more food than is needed to maintain their weight (to realize growth and development), and therefore, Cd is more absorbable for them than adults [ 54 ].…”

“…Compared to other standards worldwide, the food limits of Cd are 0.005–3 mg/kg in the European Union, 0.05–2.5 mg/kg in Australia, and 0.003–2 mg/kg in the international Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), respectively. A health risk assessment in China’s Guangdong Province indicated that rice grain, leaf vegetables, bivalves, and shrimp and crabs were the main contributors of Cd exposure [ 18 ].…”

Artesunate Mitigates Cognitive Deficits by Promoting Hippocampal Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells Proliferation and Neurogenesis in Cadmium-Exposed Mice

“…Cadmium is a widely used toxic metal in industry and agriculture, including cigarette, battery production, fossil fuel burning and fertilizers [23][24][25]. Due to the long biological half-life and the low excretion rate, cadmium could thus accumulate in human body and cause a lot of disease [3].…”