[Association of urine cadmium levels with thyroid hormone levels among middle-aged and older adults aged 40-89 years in selected areas of China]

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between urinary cadmium levels and thyroid hormone levels in people aged 40-89 years old in selected areas of China. Methods: Based on the "Investigation of the Impact of Soil Quality of Agricultural Land on Human Health in Typical Areas" project from October 2019 to August 2020, a multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used to include 6 588 middle-aged and older adults aged 40-89. Demographic characteristics, dietary frequency and disease status were collected through the questionnaire and physical examination. Urinary cadmium and urinary creatinine were detected by random midstream urine. Fasting venous blood was collected for the detection of Triiodothyronine (T3) and Thyroxine (T4). The linear mixed effects model was used to explore the association of urine cadmium levels with thyroid hormone levels. Its dose-response relationship was explored by using the restricted cubic spline. Results: The age of the subjects was (63.48±12.18) years, with males accounting for 51.28%. The M (Q_1, Q₃) of urinary cadmium level, T3 and T4 was 2.48 (1.36, 4.42) μg/g·creatinine, (1.96±0.51) nmol/L and (113.75±29.11) nmol/L, respectively. The linear mixed effects model showed that the changes of T3 and T4 were 0.027 (0.009, 0.044) nmol/L and 2.019 (1.084, 2.953) nmol/L for each one-unit increase (natural logarithm transformed) of urinary cadmium. The restricted cubic spline showed that there was a positive nonlinear association between urinary cadmium and T3 as well as T4 (all P_nonlinear<0.05). Conclusion: In selected areas of China, the urinary cadmium level of middle-aged and older adults aged 40-89 years is positively associated with T3 and T4.