Table 2. The distribution of blood cadmium level by baseline and demographical characteristics of the study population.
| Variables | No. | Blood cadmium, µg/L | P value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 733 | 0.70 (0.49, 0.92) | |
| Age, yr | < 0.001 | ||
| ≥ 43 | 369 | 0.79 (0.61, 1.01) | |
| < 43 | 364 | 0.59 (0.39, 0.83) | |
| Smoking status | < 0.001 | ||
| Yes | 244 | 0.85 (0.85, 1.09) | |
| No or ex- | 489 | 0.66 (0.47, 0.87) | |
| Alcohol consumption† | 0.067 | ||
| High | 134 | 0.77 (0.50, 0.94) | |
| Low | 599 | 0.67 (0.48, 0.90) | |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 0.235 | ||
| ≥ 25 | 462 | 0.69 (0.48, 0.90) | |
| < 25 | 271 | 0.72 (0.50, 0.97) | |
| Hypertension‡ | < 0.001 | ||
| Yes | 184 | 0.76 (0.56, 1.00) | |
| No | 549 | 0.67 (0.47, 0.90) | |
| Diabetes§ | 0.016 | ||
| Yes | 22 | 1.10 (0.56, 1.28) | |
| No | 711 | 0.70 (0.49, 0.90) | |
| Hyperlipidemia¶ | 0.177 | ||
| Yes | 72 | 0.70 (0.49, 0.91) | |
| No | 661 | 0.91 (0.56, 1.02) | |
| HDL-cholesterol, mg/dL | 0.004 | ||
| High (≥ 46.1) | 370 | 0.66 (0.46, 0.89) | |
| Low (< 46.1) | 363 | 0.74 (0.53, 0.97) | |
| WBC, 103/µL | < 0.001 | ||
| High (≥ 6,000) | 368 | 0.71 (0.54, 0.96) | |
| Low (< 6,000) | 365 | 0.66 (0.45, 0.89) | |
| Monocyte, 103/µL | < 0.001 | ||
| High (≥ 382) | 368 | 0.76 (0.54, 0.99) | |
| Low (< 382) | 365 | 0.66 (0.45, 0.86) | |
| MHR | 0.004 | ||
| High (≥ 8.24) | 363 | 0.74 (0.53, 0.97) | |
| Low (< 8.24) | 370 | 0.66 (0.46, 0.89) | |
| Job category** | 0.809 | ||
| Fire fighter | 248 | 0.71 (0.50, 0.98) | |
| Non-fire fighter | 485 | 0.70 (0.49, 0.90) |
Values were presented as median (25 percentile, 75 percentile).
BMI = body mass index, HDL = high density lipoprotein, WBC = white blood cell.
* P value was calculated by Mann-Whitney test; †Participants who drink alcohol almost never to 2–3 times a months were classified as ‘low,’ and those who drink once or more than once a week were classified as ‘high’; ‡Participants with systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg or previously diagnosed with hypertension were classified as ‘hypertension’; §Participants with fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL and previously diagnosed with diabetes were classified as ‘diabetes’; ¶Participants with LDL ≥ 160 mg/dL or total cholesterol ≥ 240 mg/dL or previously diagnosed with hyperlipidemia were classified as ‘hyperlipidemia’; **Fire extinguisher and fire field investigator are classified as ‘fire fighter.’ Driver, rescue team, paramedic, and officer were classified as ‘non-fire fighter.’