Effects of Lead, Mercury, and Cadmium Co-exposure on Children’s Pulmonary Function

Accumulating evidence has shown that toxic metals exposure can have adverse effects on children, but the effects of blood Pb, Hg, and Cd co-exposure on pulmonary function in children remains to be clarified. This cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted in Wuxi City, China. A total of 221 healthy children free from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were recruited. The blood samples were collected while blood Pb, Hg, and Cd levels were determined. The forced vital capacity volume (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the 1 s (FEV1) were measured. The associations between metals concentration and pulmonary function were analyzed by multiple linear regression models. The geometric means of the blood Pb, Hg, and Cd levels in our study were 37.27 μg/L, 1.41 μg/L, and 0.28 μg/L, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, maternal education, annual family income, fish consumption, and second-hand smoking exposure, only the blood Pb levels were significantly negatively associated with the pulmonary function. In addition, a significantly positive interaction between blood Pb and blood Cd on pulmonary function were also detected. Although causal relationship cannot be confirmed in this study, at least higher levels of Pb in blood are associated with decreased pulmonary parameters in children.