title: Chronic arsenic poisoning in the north of Mexico.
abstract: 1 We compared the prevalence of signs and symptoms of chronic arsenic poisoning in two rural populations. 2 The arsenic concentration in the drinking water of the exposed population was 0.41 mg/l, and 0.007 mg/l in the control population. 3 The arsenic was present mainly (70%) in its pentavalent form. 4 The objective was to quantitate health effects and risks derived from chronic ingestion of arsenic in contaminated water. 5 In the exposed population, 21.6% of the sample, showed at least one of the cutaneous signs of chronic arsenic poisoning against 2.2% in the control town. 6 Non-specific symptoms were more prevalent in the exposed population and they occurred more frequently in those individuals with skin signs. 7 The relative risk of suffering a particular manifestation of poisoning, ranged from 1.9 to 36 times higher in the exposed population. 8 We estimated the risks above mentioned, which were derived from exposure to minute quantities of arsenic in a known proportion of its oxidation states during a life time period.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000506:poisoning*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000506:poisoning*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic