Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal found in the air, water, food, and soil, and it’s known to cause various health problems.
A recent study published in Neurology suggests that cadmium may be linked to memory and thinking problems in white people, but not in Black people.
The study does not prove that cadmium causes memory issues; it only shows a potential connection.
Cadmium enters the body mainly through smoking, polluted air, and food. It is often released into the environment through industrial activities and farming.
Understanding how cadmium affects memory could help identify ways to reduce the risk of cognitive problems, which is important given the high rates and costs of dementia.
The study involved 2,172 participants, with an average age of 64. None of the participants had memory or thinking issues at the start.
Of the group, 39% were Black, and 61% were white. Cadmium levels were measured in the participants’ urine, and they took memory and thinking tests each year for an average of 10 years.
During the study, 195 people developed cognitive impairment. When looking at the overall group, researchers found no link between cadmium levels and memory problems.
However, when the participants were divided by race, the researchers noticed a connection between high cadmium levels and memory problems in white people.
White participants with higher levels of cadmium were twice as likely to develop cognitive problems compared to those with lower levels. In total, 9.2% of white participants with high cadmium levels developed memory issues, compared to 6.7% of those with lower levels. No such link was found in Black participants.
One possible reason for the difference between Black and white participants could be smoking. Smoking is a major source of cadmium exposure.
Researchers found that white participants with high cadmium levels smoked an average of 23 pack-years, compared to just nine pack-years for Black participants.
A pack-year measures how much someone has smoked over time. For example, smoking one pack a day for 23 years equals 23 pack-years.
What This Means
Study author Dr. Liping Lu of Columbia University emphasized that more research is needed to confirm these findings, especially studies that track cadmium levels over time.
However, reducing cadmium exposure is important for everyone, whether through government policies or personal changes like quitting smoking.
One limitation of the study is that cadmium levels were only measured at the start, and participants’ exposure may have changed over time.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that eating apples and tea could keep dementia at bay, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health.
For more health information, please see recent studies what you eat together may affect your dementia risk, and time-restricted eating: a simple way to fight aging and cancer.
Source: American Academy of Neurology.
