ArticlePloS one2024
Exposure to low levels of heavy metals and chronic kidney disease in the US population: A cross sectional study.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metal and metal mixture biomarkers across three U.S. cohorts: MASALA, MESA-LA, and Strong Heart Family Study.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Associations of plasma concentrations of heavy metals and trace elements with estimated glomerular filtration rate and chronic kidney disease: a population-based study.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Article
- Role for plant foods in kidney health among middle-aged individuals environmentally exposed to cadmium and lead.PloS one · 2026Article
- Investigation of Combined Toxic Metals, PFAS, Volatile Organic Compounds, and Essential Elements in Chronic Kidney Disease.Journal of xenobiotics · 2025Article
- E -cigarettes and kidney health: current knowledge and future perspectives.International urology and nephrology · 2025Review
- Urinary βJournal of xenobiotics · 2025Article
- Article
- Antioxidative Function of Zinc and Its Protection Against the Onset and Progression of Kidney Disease Due to Cadmium.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Albuminuria in People Chronically Exposed to Low-Dose Cadmium Is Linked to Rising Blood Pressure Levels.Toxics · 2025Article
- Effects of heavy metal exposure on kidney transplant recipients: mechanisms and clinical implications for graft failure risk.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Uncovering exposome-related diseases through the pathologic metallome: a novel approach for clinical populations.Frontiers in toxicology · 2025Article
- Effect of heavy metal exposure on human kidney cells.Bioinformation · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExposure to heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, and lead) has been linked with adverse health outcomes, especially their nephrotoxic effects at high levels of exposure. We conducted a replication study to examine the association of low-level heavy metal exposure and chronic kidney disease (CKD) using a larger NHANES data set compared to previous studies.
methodsThe large cross-sectional study comprised 5,175 CKD cases out of 55677 participants aged 20-85 years from the 1999-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES]. Logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate the associations between CKD and heavy metals [Cd, Pb, Hg] measured as categorical variables after adjusting with age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and blood cotinine level as smoking status.
resultsCompared to the lowest quartile of blood Cd, exposures to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quartiles of blood Cd were statistically significantly associated with higher odds of CKD after adjustment for blood Pb and Hg, with OR = 1.79, [95% CI; 1.55-2.07, p<0.0001], OR = 2.17, [95% CI; 1.88-2.51, p<0.0001] and OR = 1.52, [95% CI; 1.30-1.76, p<0.0001] respectively. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th quartiles of blood Cd remained statistically significantly associated with higher odds of CKD after adjustment for blood cotinine level, with OR = 2.06, [95% CI; 1.80-2.36, p<0.0001], OR = 3.18, [95% CI; 2.79-3.63, p<0.0001] and OR = 5.54, [95% CI; 4.82-6.37, p<0.0001] respectively. Exposure to blood Pb was statistically significantly associated with higher odds of CKD in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quartile groups, after adjustment for all co-variates (ag, gender, race, socio-economic status, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, blood cadmium, mercury, and cotinine levels) in all the four models. Blood Hg level was statistically significantly associated with lower odds of CKD in the 2nd quartile group in model 2, 3rd quartile group in model 1, 2 and 3, and the 4th quartile group in all the four models.
conclusionsOur findings showed that low blood levels of Cd and Pb were associated with higher odds of CKD while low blood levels of Hg were associated with lower odds of CKD in the US adult population. However, temporal association cannot be determined as it is a cross sectional study.
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