Table 2.
Blood and urinary cadmium levels associated with increases in risk of adverse reproductive outcomes.
| Endpoints | Dataset | Risk Estimate | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infertility | NHANES 2013–2014, 2015–2016 |
A 2-fold increment in blood Cd level was associated with infertility (OR 1.84). Blood Cd range: 0.07–5.14 µg/L. |
Lee et al. 2020 [114] |
| Ovarian reserve depletion | NHANES 1988–1994 | Urinary Cd levels > 0.77 µg/L were associated with serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels ≥10 IU/L, indicative of ovarian reserve depletion (OR 1.8). | Upson et al. 2021 [115] |
| Ovarian insufficiency |
Chinese (Zhejiang) women, n = 378 | Urinary Cd levels and > 0.68 µg/g creatinine were associated with serum FSH levels ≥25 IU/L, indicative of primary ovarian insufficiency (OR 2.50). | Pan et al. 2021 [116] |
| Ovarian failure | Korean (Soul) women, n = 283 |
Blood Cd levels were inversely associated with serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels, especially in 30–35-year age-group (β = −0.43) (p = 0.01). | Lee et al. 2018 [117] |
| Sperm motility | Indian (Assam) men, N = 400. |
Semen Cd levels were inversely correlated with sperm motility (r = −0.987, p < 0.001). The percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm increased with semen Cd levels (r = 0.378, p < 0.001). | Mitra et al. 2020 [118] |
| Semen quality | Italian (Sicily) men, n = 179. |
Semen Cd levels in men with abnormal sperm quality were 1.43 μg/L, 2.17 times higher than in those whose semen quality was normal. | Calogero et al. 2021 [119] |
| Sperm quality | Chinese (Wuhan), n = 746. | Semen Cd levels were inversely associated with progressive motility and total motility. Sperm concentration increased with semen Zn levels. | Wang et al. 2017 [120] |
| Sperm viability | Taiwanese men, n = 196. | Urinary Cd levels ≥ 0.8 μg/g creatinine were associated with sperm viability lower than 58%. | Jeng et al. 2015 [121] |
| Acrosome reaction |
Hong Kong men, n = 288. | Blood Cd levels >1.44 μg/L were associated with a decrease in sperm acrosome reaction. The median blood Cd was 0.36 μg/L. | Shi et al. 2021 [122] |
NHANES—National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; OR—odds ratio. Fecundity was measured as time-to-pregnancy. Semen quality was examined according to the criteria prescribed by the WHO [123]. The urinary Cd excretion rates found to be associated with increases in risk of fecundity decline all were lower than the urinary Cd threshold level of 5.24 µg/g creatinine [14].