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Association between maternal blood cadmium and lead concentrations and gestational diabetes mellitus in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the association between elevated blood cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentrations and increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods

This cross-sectional study included pregnant women (n = 16,955) enrolled in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. Concentrations of Cd and Pb in blood samples collected at 22–28 weeks’ gestation were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. GDM was diagnosed according to the 2011 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criteria. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using logistic regression analysis.

Results

Blood Cd and Pb concentrations were slightly higher among women with GDM than among those without GDM; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Elevated blood Cd and Pb concentrations were not associated with increased GDM risk in the nulliparous group (Cd OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.28–2.08 for high vs low category; Pb OR 2.51; 95% CI 0.72–8.72) or the parous group (Cd OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.29–1.44; Pb OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.04–2.29).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that Cd and Pb exposure, in the range of blood levels observed, has no significant relationship with the development of GDM. Further prospective studies would be valuable to confirm these findings.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to all of the JECS study participants. We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to the co-operating healthcare providers. The JECS was funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. The findings and conclusions of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of the Ministry of the Environment of the Japanese government. The Members of the JECS group as of April 2017 (principal investigator, Toshihiro Kawamoto): Hirohisa Saito (National Centre for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan), Reiko Kishi (Hokkaido Regional Center for JECS, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan), Nobuo Yaegashi (Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan), Koichi Hashimoto (Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan), Chisato Mori (Chiba University, Chiba, Japan), Shuichi Ito (Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan), Zentaro Yamagata (University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Japan), Hidekuni Inadera (University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan), Michihiro Kamijima (Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan), Takeo Nakayama (Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan), Hiroyasu Iso (Osaka University, Suita, Japan), Masayuki Shima (Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan), Yasuaki Hirooka (Tottori University, Yonago, Japan), Narufumi Suganuma (Kochi University, Nankoku, Japan), Koichi Kusuhara (University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan), and Takahiko Katoh (Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Japan Environment and Children’s Study Programme Office, Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Tomoko Oguri & Shoji F. Nakayama

  2. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho, Nagoya, Aichi, 467-8601, Japan

    Tomoko Oguri, Takashi Ebara & Michihiro Kamijima

  3. Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8569, Japan

    Tomoko Oguri

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho, Nagoya, Aichi, 467-8601, Japan

    Mayumi Sugiura-Ogasawara

Authors
  1. Tomoko Oguri
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  2. Takashi Ebara
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  3. Shoji F. Nakayama
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  4. Mayumi Sugiura-Ogasawara
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  5. Michihiro Kamijima
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Consortia

The Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group

  • Hirohisa Saito
  • , Reiko Kishi
  • , Nobuo Yaegashi
  • , Koichi Hashimoto
  • , Chisato Mori
  • , Shuichi Ito
  • , Zentaro Yamagata
  • , Hidekuni Inadera
  • , Michihiro Kamijima
  • , Takeo Nakayama
  • , Hiroyasu Iso
  • , Masayuki Shima
  • , Yasuaki Hirooka
  • , Narufumi Suganuma
  • , Koichi Kusuhara
  •  & Takahiko Katoh

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shoji F. Nakayama.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

The members of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group are listed in Acknowledgements.

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Oguri, T., Ebara, T., Nakayama, S.F. et al. Association between maternal blood cadmium and lead concentrations and gestational diabetes mellitus in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 92, 209–217 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1367-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1367-7

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