Cadmium Exposure and Risk of Any Fracture: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Mar;95(10):e2932. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000002932.

Abstract

Several observational studies have investigated the relation between cadmium exposure and risk of any fracture. However, the results from epidemiological studies for the association are inconsistent.We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between cadmium exposure and risk of any fracture. The pertinent studies were identified by a search of PubMed and Embase databases from 1966 to June 2015.Seven articles involving 21,941 fracture cases and 504,346 participants were included. The meta-analysis showed that the pooled relative risk of any fracture for the highest versus lowest category of cadmium concentration was 1.30 (95% confidence interval = 1.13-1.49). In subgroup analyses, the significant association remained consistent when stratified by study type, geographical region, method of cadmium exposure assessment, and gender.Our meta-analysis showed that a high cadmium exposure may be a risk factor for any fracture. However, this result should be interpreted cautiously because of the heterogeneity among studies and existence of publication bias. Additional large, high-quality prospective studies are needed to evaluate the association between cadmium exposure and the risk of development of fracture.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Cadmium / toxicity*
  • Fractures, Bone / chemically induced*
  • Humans
  • Observational Studies as Topic

Substances

  • Cadmium