Cadmium intake and cadmium in the human kidney.

The diet and cigarette smoking are the main sources of cadmium intake in people not occupationally exposed to cadmium. Using data gathered from the literature, it is shown that there is a statistically significant relationship between the average cadmium intake in various countries and the average kidney cadmium concentration in 40-60 year old people living in those countries. It is estimated that a regular dietary intake of cadmium of 175 micrograms/day would cause the concentration of cadmium in the renal cortex to reach the critical level in 50 years.