Table 6.
Quality assessment criteria for the evaluation of design and data analysis in epidemiologic studies of metals other than lead and kidney function biomarkers.
| All Studies | Prospective | Case control, cross-sectional, ecological | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Study | Exposure assessed at individual level |
Exposure assessed using biomarker |
Standardized biomarkers used |
Internal comparisons presented |
Response rate ≥ 70% from source population |
Same exclusion criteria applied to all participants |
Control for relevant confounders |
Data collected in similar manner between exposed and unexposed |
Loss to follow- up independent of exposure |
Interviewer blinded with respect to case or exposure status |
Noncases would have been cases had they developed disease (CC only) |
Cases and controls/exposed interviewed over same time period |
| Cadmium | ||||||||||||
| Weaver et al., 2014 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | Yes | NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Swaddiwudhipong et al., 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | NR |
| De Burbure et al., 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | Yes but unusual | No | - | - | - | NR |
| Chan et al., 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | No | NR | - | - | - | NR |
| Hossny et al., 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | - | Yes |
| Fels et al., 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | NR | No | NR | - | NR | - | NR |
| Noonan et al., 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | NR | Yes | NR | - | NR | - | NR |
| Mercury | ||||||||||||
| DeRouen et al., 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes if baseline assessment | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | NR |
| Woods et al., 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes if baseline assessment | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | NR |
| Geier et al., 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes if baseline assessment | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | NR |
| Bellinger et al., 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | Yes |
| Barregard et al., 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | - | - | Yes |
| Arsenic | ||||||||||||
| Hawkesworth et al., 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | NR | Yes | NR | NR | - | - | - |
| Skroder et al., 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | NR | Yes | NR | NR | - | - | - |
| Manganese | ||||||||||||
| Nascimento et al., 2016 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NR | No for kidney outcomes | Yes | - | - | - | NR |
CC: case-control study, NR: not reported
Standardized kidney biomarkers: use of albumin/creatinine ratio, GFR, eGFR, or biomarkers of kidney damage such as β2MG, NAG, AAP, A2M, or RBP
RBP: retinol binding protein, eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate, GFR: glomerular filtration rate, β2MG: β-2-microglobulin, A2M: α-2-microglobulin, NAG: N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase,