Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Association between dietary lead intake and 10-year mortality among Chinese adults

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Blood lead level is associated with increased risk of mortality, but dietary lead exposure and mortality, particularly with cancer, has not been studied in the general population. The objective of the study was to assess the association between lead intake and 10-year mortality among 2832 Chinese adults. Food intake was measured by 3-day weighed food record in 2002. We documented 184 deaths (63 cancer deaths and 70 cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths) during 27,742 person-years of follow-up. Dietary lead intake was positively associated with cancer and all-cause mortality. Across quartiles of lead intake, hazard ratios (HRs) for cancer mortality were 1.00, 0.80 (0.33–1.92), 1.52 (0.65–3.56), and 3.00 (1.06–8.44) (p for trend 0.028). HRs for all-cause mortality were 1.00, 1.28 (0.83–1.98), 1.24 (0.78–1.97), and 2.24 (1.28–3.94) (p for trend 0.011). Each 30 μg/day increase of lead intake was associated with 25% (95% CI 3–52%) increase of all-cause mortality. There was an interaction between lead intake and hypertension in relation to CVD mortality (p for interaction 0.003): HRs conferred by every 30 μg/day of lead intake were 1.57 (0.98–2.52) and 1.06 (0.81–1.39) among those with or without hypertension. Dietary lead intake was positively related to cancer and all-cause mortality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahamed M, Siddiqui MK (2007) Low level lead exposure and oxidative stress: current opinions. Clin Chim Acta 383:57–64. doi:10.1016/j.cca.2007.04.024

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ding C et al (2014) Study of distribution and influencing factors of lead and cadmium in whole blood and urine among population in 8 provinces in China. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 48:91–96

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eum KD, Nie LH, Schwartz J, Vokonas PS, Sparrow D, Hu H, Weisskopf MG (2011) Prospective cohort study of lead exposure and electrocardiographic conduction disturbances in the Department of Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study. Environ Health Perspect 119:940–944. doi:10.1289/ehp.1003279

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • European Food Safety Authority (2012) Lead dietary exposure in the European population. EFSA J 10:2831

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerhardsson L, Lundstrom NG, Nordberg G, Wall S (1986) Mortality and lead exposure: a retrospective cohort study of Swedish smelter workers. Br J Ind Med 43:707–712

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He J et al (2005) Major causes of death among men and women in China. N Engl J Med 353:1124–1134. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa050467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu H, Shih R, Rothenberg S, Schwartz BS (2007) The epidemiology of lead toxicity in adults: measuring dose and consideration of other methodologic issues. Environ Health Perspect 115:455–462. doi:10.1289/ehp.9783

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jin Y et al (2014a) Dietary exposure and risk assessment to lead of the population of Jiangsu province, China. Food Additives & Contaminants Part A, Chemistry, Analysis, Control, Exposure & Risk Assessment 31:1187–1195. doi:10.1080/19440049.2014.918283

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jin Y, Liu P, Wu Y, Min J, Wang C, Sun J, Zhang Y (2014b) A systematic review on food lead concentration and dietary lead exposure in China. Chin Med J 127:2844–2849

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasperczyk A, Dobrakowski M, Czuba ZP, Horak S, Kasperczyk S (2015) Environmental exposure to lead induces oxidative stress and modulates the function of the antioxidant defense system and the immune system in the semen of males with normal semen profile. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 284:339–344. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2015.03.001

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Cheng H, Zhou T, Lin C, Guo S (2012a) The estimated atmospheric lead emissions in China, 1990–2009. Atmos Environ 60:1–8. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.06.025

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Liu Q, Liu L, Wu Y (2012b) Application of the data from China Total Diet Study to assess the distribution of lead exposure in different age-gender population groups. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 41:379–384

    Google Scholar 

  • Li MM, Cao J, Xu J, Cai SZ, Shen XM, Yan CH (2014) The national trend of blood lead levels among Chinese children aged 0-18 years old, 1990-2012. Environ Int 71:109–117. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2014.06.005

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Ai Y, McCauley L, Pinto-Martin J, Yan C, Shen X, Needleman H (2012) Blood lead levels and associated sociodemographic factors among preschool children in the South Eastern region of China. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 26:61–69. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3016.2011.01234.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X et al (2013) Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in soil-vegetable system: a multi-medium analysis. Sci Total Environ 463-464:530–540. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.06.064

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lustberg M, Silbergeld E (2002) Blood lead levels and mortality. Arch Intern Med 162:2443–2449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma G, Luan D, Liu A, Li Y, Cui Z, Hu X, Yang X (2007) The analysis and evaluation of a physical activity questionnaire of Chinese employed population. Ying Yang Xue Bao 29:217–221

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Menke A, Muntner P, Batuman V, Silbergeld EK, Guallar E (2006) Blood lead below 0.48 micromol/L (10 microg/dL) and mortality among US adults. Circulation 114:1388–1394. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.628321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muntner P, Menke A, DeSalvo KB, Rabito FA, Batuman V (2005) Continued decline in blood lead levels among adults in the United States: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Arch Intern Med 165:2155–2161. doi:10.1001/archinte.165.18.2155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Navas-Acien A, Guallar E, Silbergeld EK, Rothenberg SJ (2007) Lead exposure and cardiovascular disease—a systematic review. Environ Health Perspect 115:472–482. doi:10.1289/ehp.9785

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nawrot TS, Thijs L, Den Hond EM, Roels HA, Staessen JA (2002) An epidemiological re-appraisal of the association between blood pressure and blood lead: a meta-analysis. J Hum Hypertens 16:123–131. doi:10.1038/sj.jhh.1001300

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Orsini N, Greenland S (2011) A procedure to tabulate and plot results after flexible modeling of a quantitative covariate. Stata J 11:1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters JL et al (2012) Lead concentrations in relation to multiple biomarkers of cardiovascular disease: the Normative Aging Study. Environ Health Perspect 120:361–366. doi:10.1289/ehp.1103467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi E (2008) Low level environmental lead exposure—a continuing challenge. The Clinical biochemist Reviews/Australian Association of Clinical Biochemists 29:63–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Schober SE, Mirel LB, Graubard BI, Brody DJ, Flegal KM (2006) Blood lead levels and death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: results from the NHANES III mortality study. Environ Health Perspect 114:1538–1541

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scinicariello F, Abadin HG, Murray HE (2011) Association of low-level blood lead and blood pressure in NHANES 1999-2006. Environ Res 111:1249–1257. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2011.08.011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi Z et al (2008) Vegetable rich food pattern is related to obesity in China. Int J Obes 32:975–984

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi Z, Zhou M, Yuan B, Qi L, Dai Y, Luo Y, Holmboe-Ottesen G (2010) Iron intake and body iron stores, anaemia and risk of hyperglycaemia among Chinese adults: the prospective Jiangsu Nutrition Study (JIN). Public Health Nutr 13:1319–1327. doi:10.1017/S1368980009991868

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi Z, Zhen S, Zimmet PZ, Zhou Y, Zhou Y, Magliano DJ, Taylor AW (2016) Association of impaired fasting glucose, diabetes and dietary patterns with mortality: a 10-year follow-up cohort in Eastern China. Acta Diabetol 53:799–806. doi:10.1007/s00592-016-0875-8

  • StataCorp. (2015) Stata 14 base reference manual. Stata Press, College State

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaziri ND (2008) Mechanisms of lead-induced hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 295:H454–H465. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00158.2008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang M et al (2011) Cancer mortality in a Chinese population surrounding a multi-metal sulphide mine in Guangdong province: an ecologic study. BMC Public Health 11:319. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisskopf MG, Jain N, Nie H, Sparrow D, Vokonas P, Schwartz J, Hu H (2009) A prospective study of bone lead concentration and death from all causes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer in the Department of Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study. Circulation 120:1056–1064. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (1968) Nutritional anaemias. Report of a WHO scientific group. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 405:5–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y (2005) Chinese Food Composition Table 2004. Peking University Medical Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research was supported by The University of Adelaide and Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Foodborne Disease Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China

    Zumin Shi, Shiqi Zhen, Yonglin Zhou & Yijing Zhou

  2. Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, L7 SAHMRI, North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000, Australia

    Zumin Shi & Anne W. Taylor

  3. Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, 122 Frome Street, Adelaide, 5005, Australia

    Zumin Shi

  4. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Nicola Orsini

  5. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jianghong Liu

Authors
  1. Zumin Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shiqi Zhen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nicola Orsini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yonglin Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yijing Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jianghong Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Anne W. Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zumin Shi.

Ethics declarations

This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures involving human subjects/patients were approved by Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Written consents were obtained from all the participants.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shi, Z., Zhen, S., Orsini, N. et al. Association between dietary lead intake and 10-year mortality among Chinese adults. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 12273–12280 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8871-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8871-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation