Keywords
tobacco
tobacco smoke
passive smoker
How to Cite
Abstract
Exposure to cadmium is a public health problem due to the broad exposure to this toxic substance among the general population. The main sources of exposure are both tobacco consumption and tobacco smoke.
The aim of this study was to determine the blood cadmium concentration in an employee population drawn from our hospital and its association with tobacco consumption.
The exposure questionnaire PESA® was administered to 395 employees. Blood cadmium was measured by electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry.
The median blood cadmium concentration was 0.29 μg/L. The median cadmium of current smokers (0.83 μg/L) was the highest, while that for ex-smokers (0.31 μg/L) was also higher than that for those who had never smoked. Among the smokers, an association was observed between the concentration of blood cadmium and the number of cigarettes inhaled.
The group of ex-smokers showed an association with the number of cigarettes they had consumed and a negative correlation between the elapsed time between quitting smoking and the concentration of blood cadmium.
In never smokers, there was a difference between the concentration of cadmium in those who were passive smokers (0.24 μg/L) and those who were not (0.20 μg/L).
The concentration of cadmium in blood is related to the tobacco consumption. Further studies are needed to confirm the finding of higher concentrations of cadmium in passive smokers.
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