Comparison of Methodologies to Estimate Dietary Cadmium Intake in an Italian Population

Tommaso Filippini, Kristen Upson, Giorgia Adani, Carlotta Malagoli, Claudia Baraldi, Bernhard Michalke and Marco Vinceti
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Tommaso Filippini: CREAGEN, Environmental, Genetic and Nutritional Epidemiology Research Center—Section of Public Health, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Kristen Upson: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Giorgia Adani: CREAGEN, Environmental, Genetic and Nutritional Epidemiology Research Center—Section of Public Health, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Carlotta Malagoli: CREAGEN, Environmental, Genetic and Nutritional Epidemiology Research Center—Section of Public Health, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Claudia Baraldi: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Bernhard Michalke: Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Marco Vinceti: CREAGEN, Environmental, Genetic and Nutritional Epidemiology Research Center—Section of Public Health, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: Cadmium is a metal that is toxic to humans, and the major source of cadmium exposure in the non-smoking general population is diet. To identify major food sources and lower exposure from diet, an accurate estimate of dietary cadmium intake is needed. Hence, the objectives of this study are to develop a method to assess dietary cadmium intake using a biomarker measurement and to improve the estimation of dietary cadmium intake when using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). In a random sample of an Italian population, we collected dietary habits by FFQ and measured cadmium in foods and beverages. These data were used to compute the estimated weekly dietary intake (WDI) of cadmium (µg) by kilogram (kg) of body weight (bw) (WDI FFQ ). We also measured fasting serum cadmium levels by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We used these data to develop a model for the estimation of the biomarker-derived dietary cadmium intake (WDI bio ). In the 51 subjects recruited, the median level of serum cadmium was 0.041 µg/L (interquartile range (IQR): 0.030–0.054). The median WDI FFQ and WDI bio were 1.34 µg/kg bw/week (IQR: 0.86–1.70) and 0.72 µg/kg bw/week (IQR: 0.55–1.11), respectively. The correlation between the two estimates was low-to-moderate (r = 0.291). In exploratory analyses, the correlation was slightly higher in women and participants ages <50 years, and markedly higher in participants with body mass index <25 kg/m 2 and smokers. Our approach allows for the dietary contribution to be isolated from the overall cadmium exposure measured with a biomarker; the estimated dietary cadmium intake was roughly similar to that estimated using the FFQ, especially in select subgroups. Future refinements to the biomarker-derived dietary cadmium intake approach should take into consideration additional sources of cadmium exposure, as well as factors affecting its absorption and metabolism.

Keywords: cadmium; food frequency questionnaire; biomarker; dietary intake; estimation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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