| Keywords |
Lead ; Mercury ; Cadmium ; Heavy metal ; Metabolic syndrome |
| Abstract |
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between blood levels of lead, mercury, cadmium and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean adults. Data were extracted from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010. Subjects were 1,959 Korean adults aged 20 years and over. The data were analyzed by using SPSS/Win 20.0. The means of blood lead, mercury and cadmium concentration in subjects were 2.48(±1.40) μg/dL, 4.94(±3.80) μg/L, and 1.19(±0.65) μg/L, respectively. There were significant difference in blood levels of lead, mercury, and cadmium according to sex, age, education level, income, residence area, house type and smoking. The blood levels of lead, mercury and cadmium were significantly higher in MetS group than in non-MetS group. For male group, the risk factors of the MetS were mercury and cadmium. For female group, the influencing factors of the MetS were lead, mercury and cadmium. After adjusting for age, education, income, residential area, and smoking, the risk factor of the MetS was mercury in both groups. For prevention and management of MetS, it is needed to monitor continuous blood heavy metal level and develop program for preventing exposure of environmental pollution. |