Biological monitoring of cadmium exposure: reliability of spot urine samples

Summary

Concentration-dilution of spot urine samples is a shortcoming of the biological monitoring of industrial xenobiotics. To ascertain whether the adjustment of urinary cadmium measured in spot samples is appropriate, urine samples were taken three times, once a week for 3 successive weeks, from 25 welders employed in the manufacture of jewellery (total 75 samples). Cadmium, creatinine, specific gravity, total urinary solutes, urinary volume and urinary flow rate were measured in 12-h collections and in spot samples taken immediately afterwards. Creatinine and total urinary solutes showed high inverse correlation with urinary flow rate (r = −0.858 and r = −0.768 respectively). Urinary cadmium displayed a similar trend but the correlation was not significant (r = −0.145). Creatinine adjustment of urinary cadmium values in spot samples increased the correlation with the same index in timed samples adjusted for urinary volume (r = −0.808) or urinary flow rate (r = 0.821) compared with non-adjustment (r = 0.732 and r = 0.738, respectively). Creatinine adjustment of spot sample values is also suitable for a wide range of urinary concentrations; discarding excessively diluted or concentrated urines, correlation of urine samples improved for non-adjusted or specific gravity-adjusted values, whereas no changes were observed for creatinine-adjusted values.