α₁-Microglobulin levels and correlation with cadmium and other metals in urine of non-smoking women among general populations in Japan

Abstract

The present study was initiated to examine urinary α₁-microglobulin (α₁-MG-U) levels among non-smoking women in the general population in Japan. A previously established database on spot urine samples from adult woman volunteers in 10 non-polluted areas all over Japan was re-examined. The data examined were on α₁-MG-U, cadmium, calcium, magnesium and zinc levels in urine (Cd-U, Ca-U, Mg-U and Zn-U, respectively), urinary creatinine (CR or cr), urine specific gravity (SG or sg), smoking habits and age. Thus, 8975 never-smoking women were selected for statistical analyses. The grand geometric mean (GM) for α₁-MG-U among the population was 2.1 mg/L or 2.5 mg/g cr, depending on the correction for urine density. It was 1.1 µg/L or 1.3 µg/g cr for GM Cd-U. The inter-area difference in α₁-MG-U was <1.5 mg/g cr or <0.7 mg/L; the area with the highest or lowest GM Cd-U was not always highest or lowest in GM α₁-MG-U. The correlation coefficient (0.53) between log Cd-U and log α₁-MG-U (both without urine density correction) became substantially smaller when the analyte levels were corrected for CR (0.25) or SG (0.26). In multiple regression analysis, the power of influence of the five independent variables (log Cd-U, Ca-U, Mg-U, Zn-U and age) in combination was small (R ² ≦ 0.13). In contrast, logistic regression analysis suggested that α₁-MG-U might be elevated as a function of an increase in Cd-U, depending on the cut-off values. Discussion was made on dose (Cd-U_cr) and response (α₁-MG-U_cr) relationship based on information available in literatures to show that the increment in α₁-MG-U_cr per Cd-U_cr was much greater when Cd-U_cr was large, e.g., in excess of 10 µg/g cr.

Keywords:

• Cadmium
• general population
• Japan
• α1-microglobulin
• urine
• women

Acknowledgements

A part of this work was supported by research grants from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Government of Japan, for the fiscal years of 2002 and 2003. The authors are grateful to Miss F. Ohashi, Kyoto Industrial Health Association, Kyoto, Japan, for her skillful work in PC operation.