Peer-reviewed article
Whole blood cadmium levels and physical growth in children aged 0-6 years in China: A national cross-sectional study.
Xinxin Zhang, Yin Lin, Yue He, Tian Zhang, Yuqing Wang et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between cadmium exposure and physical growth in over 30,000 Chinese children aged 0-6 years. Researchers measured cadmium levels in blood samples and compared them with children's height, weight, and nutritional status across 15 provinces. The findings show that higher cadmium exposure is associated with reduced growth, particularly stunted height, underweight, and lower overall development indicators.
Key points
- Higher blood cadmium levels were significantly associated with lower height-for-age, weight-for-age, and BMI-for-age Z-scores
- Children with higher cadmium exposure had increased risk of stunting and being underweight
- The study included over 30,000 children aged 0-6 years sampled from 15 provinces across China
- Cadmium exposure showed particularly strong negative effects on linear growth (height)
- The associations remained statistically significant across all growth indicators tested
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study, so it cannot establish causation or determine whether cadmium exposure directly causes growth problems or if other factors are responsible. The study does not describe interventions or potential solutions to reduce cadmium exposure in children.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic environmental pollutant that interferes with multiple physiological systems, particularly bone metabolism and endocrine disorders. Preschool-aged children undergo a critical period of growth and development that establishes lifelong health trajectories. Early-life Cd exposure may negatively influence children's physical development. However, current evidence regarding the effects of blood cadmium levels (BCLs) on physical development in children remains limited. Further research is urgently needed to clarify the relationship between Cd exposure and growth outcomes in this population. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between Cd exposure and physical growth indicators in children, including Z-scores for BMI-for-age (BMIZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and height-for-age (HAZ), as well as nutrition status indicators, incorporating stunting, underweight, and overweight. METHOD: We employed a multistage stratified cluster sampling method, recruiting over 30,000 children aged 0-6 years from 15 provinces across China. Venous blood samples were collected from all participants for Cd analysis, and structured questionnaires were administered alongside physical examinations. Multiple linear regression and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the associations between BCLs and growth indicators. P for trend was utilized to examine relationships between BCLs and nutrition status indicators (stunting, underweight, and overweight). RESULTS: Natural ln-transformed BCLs were negatively associated with HAZ (β = -0.107, 95% CI: -0.121 to -0.092), WAZ (β = -0.099, 95% CI: -0.112 to -0.086), and BMIZ (β = -0.055, -0.070 to -0.041) (all P < 0.001). Higher BCLs increased the risk of stunting (P for trend < 0.001) and underweight (P for trend = 0.036). CONCLUSION: Cd exposure is adversely associated with physical growth in young Chinese children, with particularly strong negative effects on linear growth.