Explanation

Vanadium (urine): what is measured?

The analysis measures how much vanadium leaves the body in the urine. Vanadium is a metal found in soil, in some iron ores and in crude oil, and is used to make steel stronger and more rust-resistant. It is released when fuel oil and coal are burned. Most people take in vanadium mainly through food, but the gut absorbs it poorly.

What can it detect?

Exposure to vanadium at work, for example in steel production or when burning fuel oil
A high intake through vanadium supplements

Result

What does the result mean?

Vanadium (urine) too high

A raised value fits recent exposure to vanadium, for example at work, or vanadium supplements. Tobacco smoke and seafood can also contribute. According to the ATSDR, breathing in a lot of vanadium pentoxide can damage the lungs, and some vanadium compounds can cause nausea, mild diarrhea and stomach cramps. According to the ATSDR, the measurement cannot predict whether harm will occur.

Vanadium (urine) too low

A low or unmeasurable value is normal. There is no known vanadium deficiency in humans, so a low result does not call for supplementation.

After an abnormal result

With a raised result, the GP looks for the source, such as work or supplements, together with the occupational physician if needed, and has the measurement repeated if needed.

Reliability

How reliable is the test?

Vanadium in urine is mainly informative with known exposure at work; in people without known exposure, a single value says little. With exposure at work, the urine is usually collected at the end of a working day, after several working days in a row. The result is usually expressed per gram of creatinine, so that dilution of the urine plays no role. According to the ATSDR, the measurement can show exposure, but not whether this causes harm.

What can affect the result?

A single urine sample depends strongly on how much you have drunk; the result is easier to compare when it is expressed per gram of creatinine, which requires measuring creatinine in the same sample.
Vanadium supplements, such as vanadyl sulfate, raise the value.
Smoking and eating seafood can raise the value.
There are no agreed cutoff values; the limit between normal and raised comes from the laboratory itself.

Preparation

Do you work with vanadium? Then collect the urine at the end of a working day, after a few working days in a row.

Who it is for

Who is the test useful for?

Useful for

Useful with known exposure to vanadium at work, usually in consultation with the occupational physician. In people without symptoms and without known exposure, the measurement adds nothing.

How common is it?

According to the RIVM, vanadium was present in building materials used in Drenthe to reinforce cycle paths; this vanadium causes no health risk for people who use the cycle paths. According to the ATSDR, most people take in vanadium mainly through food. There are no Dutch figures on exposure at work or on poisoning.

The RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) and ATSDR

Drawbacks and risks

A slightly raised value without symptoms easily leads to worry and to unnecessary follow-up testing.

Get tested

Vanadium (urine): test panels

Vanadium (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.

Urine · 2 analyses
Vanadium
Measures vanadium in your urine, as a measure of recent exposure. For anyone who works with vanadium, for example in the steel industry.
€ 78,00

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.

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