Urinary cadmium linked to higher immune marker levels
An increase in urinary cadmium spanning the middle half of measured levels was associated with 7.99% higher levels of an immune-activation marker.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study followed 5,148 adults without clinical cardiovascular disease at enrollment in 2000–2002. Researchers analyzed 11 urinary metals and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), a blood marker of immune activation.
Seven metals were associated with suPAR. Cadmium had the strongest association, which persisted among people who had never smoked. It was more strongly associated with suPAR than with three other markers. Over a median 14.7 years, participants in the highest quarter of urinary cadmium had a higher risk of death from any cause than those in the lowest quarter (hazard ratio 1.43, a relative measure of risk). An exploratory analysis identified a component of the cadmium–death association linked to suPAR. Findings for cardiovascular outcomes pointed in the same direction but were not definitive.
Why it matters
Immune activation offers a possible focus for investigating how environmental metal exposure relates to mortality and lifespan.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish that cadmium caused immune activation or death; the proposed pathway needs longitudinal and mechanistic confirmation. The participants initially had no clinical cardiovascular disease, limiting applicability to people with existing disease.
Where the evidence stands
The paper
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; University of Texas Medical Branch
Journal of the American Heart Association, Nov 2, 2026
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