Search

A 9-y follow-up study of 3 178 persons who lived in a cadmium-polluted area was conducted to assess the influence of environmental cadmium exposure on long-term outcome. The standardized mortality ratios of the urinary [[beta].sub.2]-microglobulin-positive subjects (> 1 000 [micro]g/g creatinine) of both sexes were higher than those of the general Japanese population, whereas the cumulative survival curves were lower than those of the urinary [[beta].sub.2]-microglobulin-negative group. A significant association was also found between urinary [[beta].sub.2]-microglobulin and mortality, using a Cox's proportional hazards model. Moreover, mortality rates increased in proportion to increases in the amount of urinary [[beta].sub.2]-microglobulin excreted. These results suggest that the prognosis for cadmium-exposed subjects with proximal tubular dysfunction is unfavorable. The mortality rate tended to become higher as the severity of renal dysfunction progressed., ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS that result from environmental cadmium (Cd) pollution have been reported in many regions in Japan,(1) a notable example being itai-itai disease in the Jinzu River basin, located [...]