Urinary Cadmium and Age-related Macular Degeneration Original Reearch Article

Purpoe To evaluate the aociation between urinary and blood cadmium (Cd) level with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Deign Propective cae-control tudy. Method In 53 participant older than 60 year with AMD in both eye and in 53 age-matched (± 3 year) control without AMD, Cd level were meaured in blood and urine pecimen (with and without creatinine adjutment) by uing inductively coupled plama-ma pectrometry. Data on age, gender, moking tatu, and family hitory were obtained. By uing color tereocopic fundu photograph, the degree of AMD wa graded uing the Age-Related Eye Dieae tudy’ 4-tage AMD everity cale. The incluion criterion for AMD cae wa a photographic everity level of two to four in both eye. Median blood and urine Cd and median urine Cd/creatinine concentration in cae and control were compared by uing the rank-um tet, tratifying for moking tatu. Reult Current and former moker with AMD had median urine Cd/creatinine level (1.18 μg/g; range, 0.84 to 1.44 μg/g) that were 97% higher than moker without AMD (0.60 μg/g; range, 0.49 to 0.90 μg/g; P = .02), 111% higher than never moker with AMD (0.56 μg/g; range, 0.40 to 0.80 μg/g; P < .001) and 107% higher than never moker without AMD (0.57 μg/g; 0.40 to 0.65 μg/g; P < .001). Blood Cd level, indicative of hort-term expoure level, were not aociated with AMD (P ≥ .06). Concluion A higher urinary Cd level, which reflect the total body burden of Cd, wa aociated with AMD in moker. Accumulated Cd expoure may be important in the development of moking-related AMD.