Table 5.

BCd and UCd at baseline (1985–1989) as predictors of mortality in environmentally exposed subjects and 42 smelter workers.

	Mortality statistics by area				Hazard ratios (95% CI) associated with a doubling of the internal cadmium dose at baseline (1985–1989)a
Variable	No. of deaths (%)		Standardized rate (per 1,000 person-years)		BCd	p-Value	UCd	p-Value
Study area
Exposure level	LEA	HEA	LEA	HEA	LEA and HEA		LEA and HEA
No. of subjects	479	519	479	519	964		986
No. of deaths	94	131	94	131	212		220
Cause of death
Total	94 (11.6)	131 (25.2)	11.0	13.8	1.32 (1.11–1.56)	0.001	1.22 (1.06–1.40)	0.006
Cardiovascular	38 (7.9)	60 (11.6)	4.5	6.3	1.29 (0.99–1.67)	0.057	1.11 (0.89–1.38)	0.34
Cardiac	23 (4.8)	41 (7.9)	2.7	4.3	1.31 (0.95–1.81)	0.10	1.09 (0.83–1.43)	0.54
Cerebrovascular	12 (2.5)	10 (1.9)	1.4	1.0	0.85 (0.49–1.47)	0.57	0.61 (0.37–0.99)	0.05
Noncardiovascular	43 (8.9)	61 (11.6)	5.2	6.5	1.41 (1.10–1.80)	0.007	1.43 (1.17–1.76)	0.0007
Cancer	22 (4.6)	38 (7.3)	2.5	4.0	1.27 (0.92–1.74)	0.14	1.44 (1.11–1.88)	0.007
Lung	4 (0.8)	17 (3.3)	0.4	1.8	1.11 (0.66–1.85)	0.70	1.65 (1.08–2.50)	0.019
Gastrointestinal	7 (1.5)	10 (1.9)	0.8	1.1	1.41 (0.77–2.57)	0.27	1.33 (0.79–2.26)	0.28
Urogenital	4 (0.8)	2 (0.4)	0.5	0.2	1.02 (0.37–2.84)	0.96	1.05 (0.40–2.74)	0.92
Other cancer	7 (1.5)	9 (1.7)	0.7	1.0	1.58 (0.84–2.98)	0.16	1.57 (0.93–2.64)	0.09
Other noncardiovascular	21 (4.4)	23 (4.4)	2.4	2.0	1.65 (1.11–2.45)	0.013	1.46 (1.04–2.04)	0.03
Violent death	1 (0.2)	4 (0.8)	0.1	0.5	1.75 (0.64–4.80)	0.27	2.64 (1.06–6.56)	0.026

The cause of death could not be ascertained in 17 participants. Death rates were standardized for sex and age (20–39, 40–59, ≥ 60 years) by the direct method.

^aHazard ratios and p-values were computed by Cox regression and were adjusted for sex, age, body mass index, smoking, γ-glutamyltransferase as index of alcohol intake, and SES.