Home › Biomarkers › Cadmium, urine
Cadmium, urine measures how much cadmium is in your urine. Cadmium is a metal. According to the ATSDR, cadmium in urine gives the best estimate of the total amount of cadmium in your body. A higher value can point to more exposure over a longer period.[1]
On this page you can read what cadmium, urine is, what the guidelines say about a value that is too low or too high, what affects your value and which values are best to look at alongside it.
Also known as: cadmium in urine, urinary cadmium.
Cadmium is a silver-white or blue-white metal. It occurs naturally in the earth's crust and in seawater. It is mainly used in nickel-cadmium batteries. It also gives colour to plastic, ceramics and glass, and is increasingly used in solar panels.[1]
Cadmium can be measured in urine, blood and stool. Cadmium in blood mainly shows recent exposure. Cadmium in urine tells you the most about the total amount in your body and about exposure over a longer period.[1]
Cadmium is one of the most commonly tested heavy metals, along with lead, mercury, arsenic and chromium. You can be tested for a single metal or for a group of metals at once.[2]
With repeated exposure, cadmium builds up in the kidneys and can damage them. Repeated exposure is also linked to weak, brittle bones.[1]
Breathing in cadmium particles can make breathing harder and, over time, damage your nose, throat and lungs.[1]
Animal studies show that cadmium can damage the developing nervous system in pregnant animals or early in life. It is assumed that this also applies to humans.[1]
In Germany, a committee of experts sets health-based guidance values and reference values for substances measured in the body, including in urine.[3]
| Level | Can point to | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Higher value[1] | more cadmium in your body and more exposure over a longer period | everyone who has their cadmium measured in urine |
| Higher value[1] | exposure through tobacco smoke | people who smoke and people who live with smokers |
| Higher value[1] | exposure through air or drinking water near a company that makes or uses cadmium, or through your work | people who work with cadmium or live close to such a company |
| Any level[1] | does not tell you whether cadmium will give you health problems | everyone |
Source: ATSDR, ToxFAQs on cadmium. General information for the public, without limit values.[1]
A value that is too high can point to more exposure to cadmium over a longer period, for example through food, smoke or work. The test does not predict whether you will develop health problems from it. If you think you have been exposed, talk to your doctor.[1]
BioProfile is working on its own zones for each value, from risk to optimal. A doctor reviews those zones before they appear in your result.
If you do not smoke, you take in cadmium mainly through food. Leafy vegetables, potatoes, grains, peanuts, soya beans, sunflower seeds, shellfish and organ meats such as liver and kidney can contain a lot of cadmium.[1]
Tobacco smoke contains cadmium. People who smoke, and people who live with smokers, take in more cadmium than people who do not smoke.[1]
People who make or use cadmium at work, or who live close to such a company, can take in more cadmium through the air or drinking water. Working in a battery factory or in metal plating can increase the chance of exposure to heavy metals.[1, 2]
Cadmium in urine is included in BioProfile 150. Cadmium in urine is also included in the separate test BioProfile Heavy metals.[4]
The BioProfile editorial team wrote this page on 5 October 2026 from the sources below, which we read on 5 October 2026. Every number on this page appears in one of those sources, with that source's number next to it. An expert has yet to review this page; once that review is done, the expert's name and the date of the review will appear at the top. This page explains and does not diagnose. Discuss a value outside the normal range with your GP.
