Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Levels of Urinary Metals in the U.S. Youth and Adult Population: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2004
1
Office of Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
2
Chronic & Infectious Disease Research Program, RTI International. Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
3
Institute of Public Health, College of Health and Human Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(7), 1930-1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph6071930
Received: 27 April 2009 / Accepted: 28 June 2009 / Published: 2 July 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tobacco Smoking and Public Health)
We assessed 12 urine metals in tobacco smoke-exposed and not exposed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants. Our analysis included age, race/ethnicity, and poverty status. Gender and racial/ethnic differences in cadmium and lead and creatinine-adjusted and unadjusted data for group comparisons are presented. Smokers’ had higher cadmium, lead, antimony, and barium levels than nonsmokers. Highest lead levels were in the youngest subjects. Lead levels among adults with high second-hand smoke exposure equaled smokers. Older smokers had cadmium levels signaling the potential for cadmium-related toxicity. Given the potential toxicity of metals, our findings complement existing research on exposure to chemicals in tobacco smoke.
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Keywords:
secondhand smoke (SHS); metals; youth; lead; cadmium; race/ethnicity; tobacco smoke; smoker; toxicity
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
Richter, P.A.; Bishop, E.E.; Wang, J.; Swahn, M.H. Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Levels of Urinary Metals in the U.S. Youth and Adult Population: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2004. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 1930-1946.
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