Analyses of maternal plasma cadmium, lead, and vanadium levels in the diagnosis and severity of late-onset preeclampsia: a prospective and comparative study

Introduction: Cadmium, lead, and vanadium, important pollutants produced from anthropogenic activities, have been suggested to be embryotoxic and fetotoxic in many studies. However, the causes of preeclampsia are little known and heavy metals merit further investigation. We tested whether late-onset preeclampsia (L-PrE) was associated with exposure to these metals. Methods: This study was designed to determine maternal plasma cadmium, lead, and vanadium concentrations in women with L-PrE (n = 46) compared with those of normotensive women (n = 46). The concentrations of the metals were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and compared. Results: The groups were matched for maternal age, gestational age, and gravidity (p >= 0.05). Vanadium concentrations differed between the groups (p = 0.007). In contrast, there were no significant differences in the concentrations of cadmium and lead between the groups (p >= 0.05). There was no difference between the concentrations of the metals in patients with mild (n = 23) and severe (n = 23) preeclampsia in L-PrE (p >= 0.05). A significant discriminative role of vanadium for the presence of L-PrE, with a cutoff value of 1.84 mu g/L, was found in ROC curve analysis. When the patients with and without small-for-gestational-age infants were compared (n = 12, and n = 80, respectively), it was determined that there were no differences between cadmium, lead, and vanadium concentrations (p >= 0.05). Conclusion: Lower levels of vanadium might be associated with the development of L-PrE. Our findings require further investigation in other populations.

Automated summary

Exposure to heavy metals, especially vanadium, may be associated with late-onset preeclampsia, suggesting the need for further investigation into their potential impact on maternal health.