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Cadmium exposure and age-related macular degeneration

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 26, pages 214–218 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) has been proposed as a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but the association between Cd exposure and AMD risk in large population studies is unknown. This study evaluated the association of Cd exposure with AMD in a large representative sample of Korean men and women. This was a cross-sectional study of 3865 Korean adults ≥40 years of age who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) during 2008–2011. Cd concentrations in whole blood were measured by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The presence of AMD was determined in digital non-mydriatic fundus photographs. Cd levels were higher in participants with AMD compared with those without AMD (1.3 vs 1.1 μg/l, respectively, P<0.001). In fully adjusted models, the odds ratio for AMD comparing the highest with the lowest Cd quartiles was 1.92 (95% CI=1.08–3.39; P for trend 0.029). In restricted cubic spline models, the association between Cd and AMD was approximately linear, with no evidence of threshold effects. Blood Cd concentrations were independently associated with the prevalence of AMD. If the association is proven causal, population-based preventive strategies to decrease Cd exposure could reduce the population burden of AMD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saevit Eye Hospital, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

    Myung Hun Kim

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

    Myung Hun Kim

  3. Departments of Epidemiology and Medicine, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Di Zhao, Juhee Cho & Eliseo Guallar

  4. Department of Health Sciences and Technology, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea

    Juhee Cho

  5. Biostatistics and Clinical Epidemiology Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Juhee Cho

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  1. Myung Hun Kim
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Correspondence to Myung Hun Kim.

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Kim, M., Zhao, D., Cho, J. et al. Cadmium exposure and age-related macular degeneration. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 26, 214–218 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2014.75

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