Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, Section of Health Sciences, Foro Italico University, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 6, 00195, Rome, Italy.
Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Endocrinology and Food Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viiale Regina Elena 324, 00161, Rome, Italy.
J Endocrinol Invest. 2021 Jul;44(7):1363-1377. doi: 10.1007/s40618-021-01502-x. Epub 2021 Jan 26.
Cadmium (Cd), a highly toxic heavy metal, is found in soil, environment and contaminated water and food. Moreover, Cd is used in various industrial activities, such as electroplating, batteries production, fertilizers, while an important non-occupational source is represented by cigarette smoking, as Cd deposits in tobacco leaves. Since many years it is clear a strong correlation between Cd body accumulation and incidence of many diseases. Indeed, acute exposure to Cd can cause inflammation and affect many organs such as kidneys and liver. Furthermore, the attention has focused on its activity as environmental pollutant and endocrine disruptor able to interfere with metabolic and energy balance of living beings. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that the Cd-exposure is related to metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis even if human studies are still controversial. Recent data show that Cd-exposure is associated with atherosclerosis, hypertension and endothelial damage that are responsible for cardiovascular diseases. Due to the large environmental diffusion of Cd, in this review, we summarize the current knowledge concerning the role of Cd in the incidence of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
镉（Cd）是一种高度毒性的重金属，存在于土壤、环境和受污染的水和食物中。此外，镉被广泛应用于电镀、电池生产、肥料等各种工业活动中，而吸烟是一个重要的非职业性镉暴露来源，因为镉会沉积在烟叶中。多年来，人们已经清楚地认识到镉在体内的积累与许多疾病的发生之间存在很强的相关性。事实上，急性镉暴露会引起炎症，并影响肾脏和肝脏等许多器官。此外，人们还关注其作为环境污染物和内分泌干扰物的活性，因为它能够干扰生物的代谢和能量平衡。体外和体内实验都表明，镉暴露与肥胖、糖尿病和骨质疏松等代谢性疾病有关，尽管人类研究仍存在争议。最近的数据表明，镉暴露与动脉粥样硬化、高血压和内皮损伤有关，这些都是心血管疾病的罪魁祸首。由于镉在环境中的广泛传播，在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前关于镉在代谢和心血管疾病发病机制中作用的知识。
