Developmental toxicity of cadmium in infants and children: a review

Several millions of people are exposed to cadmium worldwide due to natural and anthropogenic activities that led to their widespread distribution in the environment and have shown potential adverse effects on the kidneys, liver, heart and nervous system. Recently human and animal-based studies have been shown that In utero and early life exposure to cadmium can have serious health issues that are related to the risk of developmental disabilities and other outcomes in adulthood. Since, cadmium crosses the placental barrier and reaches easily to the fetus, even moderate or high-level exposure of this metal during pregnancy could be of serious health consequences which might be reflected either in the children’s early or later stages of life. Mortality from various diseases including cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney and neurological problems, correlation with In utero or early life exposure to cadmium has been found in epidemiological studies. Animal studies with strong evidence of various diseases mostly support for the human studies, as well as suggested a myriad mechanism by which cadmium can interfere with human health and development. More studies are needed to establish the mechanism of cadmium-induced toxicity with environmentally relevant doses in childhood and later life. In this review, we provide a comprehensive examination of the literature addressing potential long- term health issues with In utero and early life exposure to cadmium, as well as correlating with human and animal exposure studies.