Background: Limited data suggest that lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and uranium (U) may disrupt vitamin D metabolism and inhibit production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], the active vitamin D metabolite, from 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in the kidney.
Objectives: We evaluated the association between blood lead (BPb) and urine arsenic (As), Cd, molybdenum (Mo), thallium (Tl), and U with markers of vitamin D metabolism [25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D].
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 512 adolescents in Torreón, a town in Mexico with a Pb smelter near residential areas. BPb was measured using atomic absorption spectrometry. Urine As, Cd, Mo, Tl, and U were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Serum 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D were measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay and a radioimmunoassay, respectively. Multivariable linear models with vitamin D markers as the outcome were used to estimate associations of BPb and creatinine-corrected urine As and metal concentrations with serum vitamin D concentrations, controlling for age, sex, adiposity, smoking, socioeconomic status, and time outdoors.
Results: Serum 25(OH)D was positively associated with urine Mo and Tl [1.5 (95% CI: 0.4, 2.6) and 1.2 (95% CI: 0.3, 2.1) ng/mL higher with a doubling of exposure, respectively]. Serum 1,25(OH)2D was positively associated with urine As and U [3.4 (95% CI: 0.9, 5.9) and 2.2 (95% CI: 0.7, 3.7) pg/mL higher, respectively], with little change in associations after additional adjustment for serum 25(OH)D. Pb and Cd were not associated with 25(OH)D or 1,25(OH)2D concentrations.
Conclusions: Overall, our findings did not support a negative effect of As or metal exposures on serum 1,25(OH)2D concentrations. Additional research is needed to confirm positive associations between serum 1,25(OH)2D and urine U and As concentrations and to clarify potential underlying mechanisms.
1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, 2Department of Epidemiology, and 3Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; 4Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Gómez Palacio Durango, México; 5Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Coahuila, Coahuila, Mexico; 6Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Centro de Investigación en Salud Poblacional, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico; 7Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA; 8Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Albany, New York, USA; 9Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Recommended Citation:
Rachel D. Zamoiski,1 Eliseo Guallar,2,et al. Association of Arsenic and Metals with Concentrations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D among Adolescents in Torreón, Mexico[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2014-01-01,Volume 122(Issue 11):1233