Urine · 2 analyses
Cadmium
Measures cadmium in your urine, a measure of how much cadmium has built up in your body over the years. For anyone exposed through work.
€ 42,00
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Metals, toxins and medication · Urine
Cadmium (urine)
Cadmium in urine reflects how much cadmium has built up in your body over the years, mainly in the kidneys.
At a glance
- Measured in urine
- In 2 test panels
- No special preparation
Explanation
Cadmium (urine): what is measured?
The analysis measures how much cadmium leaves the body in the urine. Cadmium is a heavy metal that the body does not need and that enters the body through food and tobacco smoke. The body can hardly get rid of cadmium: it builds up, mainly in the kidneys, and stays there for decades. The amount in urine therefore mainly reflects the total accumulated load, while cadmium in blood says more about the past months.
What can it detect?
- The accumulated cadmium load over years, in the Netherlands mainly from smoking
- Long-term exposure through work, for example in metalworking or in battery production
Result
What does the result mean?
Cadmium (urine) too high
A raised value means that more cadmium than average has built up in the body over the years. In people who smoke or have smoked for a long time the value is usually higher, because tobacco smoke contains cadmium, and the value also rises with age. Long-term high exposure is linked to kidney damage and to bone loss, but that link applies to groups and cannot be read from the result for one person. If the kidneys are already damaged, excretion can rise sharply and the value says less about the accumulated amount.
Cadmium (urine) too low
A low or unmeasurable value is normal and occurs in most people who do not smoke. The body does not need cadmium, so there is no such thing as a deficiency. A low value says nothing about other metals.
After an abnormal result
With a raised result, the GP first maps out the possible source, including smoking and work. If needed, referral to the occupational physician or to an internist (specialist in internal medicine) follows; kidney function can then be checked.
Reliability
How reliable is the test?
Cadmium in urine is the usual measure of long-term exposure, especially with known exposure through work. In people without known exposure, a single value says little; the meaning of a slightly raised value for the health of one person has been little studied. A single urine sample varies with how much you drink. The result says something about exposure, not about a build-up that you can remove with a course of treatment.
What can affect the result?
- Smoking raises the value; without knowing whether someone smokes or has smoked, a result cannot be interpreted.
- A single urine sample depends on fluid intake; drinking a lot dilutes the result.
- With damaged kidneys, excretion rises and the value says less about the accumulated amount.
- There are no agreed limit values that say when a value should be treated.
Who it is for
Who is the test useful for?
Useful for
Useful with known long-term exposure through work or living environment, at the request of an occupational physician or a doctor investigating this. In people without symptoms and without known exposure, the measurement adds nothing to the health picture. If you want to know what cadmium means for your own health, stopping smoking is more useful than a measurement.
How common is it?
About 17.8 percent of Dutch adults smoke, and smoking is the most important source of cadmium in the Netherlands. In a study of people over 50, cadmium was found in the blood and urine of almost all participants. Cadmium poisoning from food or the living environment is rare.
VZinfo (RIVM) and Voedingscentrum
Drawbacks and risks
- A raised value without symptoms says little about the health of one person and can cause unnecessary worry.
- The result can wrongly be used to justify a detox treatment; the benefit of such treatment has not been proven.
Get tested
Cadmium (urine): test panels
Cadmium (urine) is part of these test panels. You order online and have your blood drawn at a collection point or collect the sample at home.
Evidence
Sources
This explanation is based on Dutch guidelines and independent information. It is general information, not a diagnosis. Discuss an abnormal result with your GP.
More about risks and resultsMore explanations
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