Metals, toxins and medication
Cadmium
Cadmium in blood shows how much cadmium you have recently taken in; in the Netherlands, smoking is the largest source.
Everything about this testWhat it measures
The analysis measures how much cadmium is in your blood. Cadmium is a heavy metal that the body does not need. You take it in through food, especially grains, vegetables and organ meat, and through tobacco smoke. The value in blood mainly reflects exposure over the past months.
- Recent exposure to cadmium, in the Netherlands mainly from smoking
- Exposure through work, for example in metalworking or in battery production
High
A raised value means that you have taken in more cadmium than average over the past months. In people who smoke, the value is almost always higher than in people who do not smoke, because the tobacco plant takes up cadmium from the soil. A raised value without symptoms does not mean there is organ damage. 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.
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 in blood does not rule out exposure years ago.
If your result is abnormal
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
Cadmium in blood is mainly meaningful with known exposure, for example through work, and is almost always higher in smokers than in non-smokers. 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. The result says something about exposure, not about a build-up that you can remove with a course of treatment.
Limitations
- Smoking strongly raises the value; without knowing whether someone smokes or is exposed to secondhand smoke, a result cannot be interpreted.
- Blood mainly shows the last few months; for long-term exposure, occupational medicine tends to look at urine instead.
- There are no agreed limit values that say when a value should be treated.
- Laboratories use different methods and reference values, which makes results hard to compare with each other.
How common is this
About 17.8 percent of Dutch adults smoke, and smoking is the most important source of cadmium in the Netherlands. Cadmium poisoning from food or the living environment is rare. In some areas, such as the Kempen region, the soil carries a higher cadmium load because of past industry.
Who is this useful for
Useful with known 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.
Downsides 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.
Sources
Always discuss an abnormal result with your GP. If a result is strongly abnormal, we try to reach you as soon as possible. Read your result yourself as well and contact your GP if in doubt. A test does not make a diagnosis. Read more about risks and results