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Is environmental cadmium a serious hazard to Czech population?

The main objective of the study was to asses whether the environmental cadmium exposure in the Czech Republic is high enough to be able to affect significantly the human reproduction. Cadmium levels were measured in the blood and follicular fluid of 220 women in in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy, using atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean value of cadmium in venous blood was 0.85 ng x ml(-1) with significantly higher values among smokers (1.18 ng x ml(-1), SD = 1.6, 95%CI: 0.6-1.1) as compared to non-smokers (0.46 ng x ml(-1), SD = 0.4, 95%CI: 0.4-0.6) (p < 0.0001). In all, 1518 blood-free follicles were assessed to determine cadmium residues in follicular fluid. The mean cadmium value was 0.34 ng x ml(-1) (SD = 0.45, 95%CI: 0.28-0.41). No association was found between the cadmium levels in blood and follicular fluid, and similar cadmium levels were observed in the follicular fluid of women with different smoking habits. The calculated dietary cadmium intake was similar in all our patients and had no relation to either blood or follicular cadmium levels. The follicular cadmium levels were approximately 20 times lower as compared to those found in the group of Canadian women. Our study confirmed the previous findings on the low exposure of the Czech population to environmental cadmium.