Association between prenatal exposure to cadmium and atopic dermatitis in infancy

Ja Hyeong Kim, Kyoung Sook Jeong, Eun Hee Ha, Hyesook Park, Mina Ha, Yun Chul Hong, Soo Jeong Lee, Kyung Yeon Lee, Joseph Jeong, Yangho Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between intrauterine exposure to cadmium and the presence of atopic dermatitis in infants 6 months of age, adjusted for covariates including exposure to other heavy metals. The present research is a component of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center birth cohort project conducted in Korea. Study subjects were restricted to pregnant women in whom cadmium and lead levels were measured at delivery and whose infants were assessed for the presence of atopic disease at 6 months of age. The odds ratio (OR) for the presence of atopic dermatitis in 6-month-old infants whose cord blood had elevated cadmium levels, after adjustment for other covariates, was 2.350 (95% CI, 1.126-4.906). The OR for the presence of atopic dermatitis in infants whose cord blood had elevated lead levels was not significant. In the present study, the cord blood cadmium level was significantly associated with the presence of atopic dermatitis in 6-month-old infants; this was not true of the cord blood lead level. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective study to show a relationship between prenatal exposure to cadmium and atopic dermatitis in infancy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)516-521
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Korean Medical Science
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Atopic
  • Atopy
  • Cadmium
  • Cord
  • Dermatitis
  • Lead

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