Cadmium concentrations in human kidneys from the UK.

The concentration of cadmium in the cortex and medulla of nearly 1000 kidneys obtained at autopsy was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Particular care was taken over the analytical procedures to ensure the accuracy and precision of the results; intrakidney variability was examined and found to be small. The frequency distributions of cadmium concentrations were approximately lognormal. There was much variability in cadmium concentrations between individuals, with geometric coefficients of variation for both cortex and medulla of around 100%. Cadmium concentrations varied with age and smoking habits, but not sex. Values were successively higher than those in the previous age-group up to 50-59 years (geometric mean 19 micrograms/g), after which they were successively lower; on average, heavy smokers had cadmium concentrations some 15-20% higher than those in light smokers who in turn had values some 15-20% higher than those in non-smokers. No definite conclusions could be reached on the variation of cadmium concentrations with either cause of death or location, or over time. The present study, the first of its kind in the UK, has provided benchmark data; its results are broadly in line with those from previous but smaller studies in other countries.