Benchmark dose estimation of cadmium reference level for hypertension in a Chinese population

•BCd was associated with elevation in blood pressure and hypertension.•Reference level of BCd for systolic hypertension was lower than diastolic hypertension.•SBP is more susceptible to cadmium compared with DBP.

Cadmium exposure can cause high blood pressure or hypertension. Benchmark dose has been used to estimate the reference point of cadmium for kidney and bone damage. In this study, we observed the association of blood pressure and cadmium in blood (BCd) and evaluated the reference level of cadmium for hypertension using benchmark dose (BMD) approach. A total of 441 subjects were included in this study. Blood samples were collected from each individual for BCd determination. Blood pressure was measured by electronic sphygmomanometer. BMD and BMDL were calculated using BMD software corresponding to additional risk of 10%. The systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of hypertension increased with the increasing of BCd, especially for SBP (χ2 = 3.9, p = 0.047 in men; χ2 = 4.3, p = 0.037 in women). With a benchmark response of 10%, the BMDL10 for hypertension (high SBP) was 0.95 μg/L and 1.02 μg/L for women and men, respectively; the BMDL10 for hypertension (high DBP) was 1.8 μg/L and 1.66 μg/L for women and men, respectively. Our data evidenced that BCd was associated with elevation in blood pressure and hypertension, especially for women. The reference level of cadmium for hypertension with high SBP was lower than that of high DBP.