Determinants of inorganic arsenic methylation capability among residents of the Lanyang Basin, Taiwan: arsenic and selenium exposure and alcohol consumption.
The objective of this study was to assess individual variation in inorganic arsenic methylation capability and the association between selenium levels in urine and blood, and inorganic arsenic methylation capability among residents of the Lanyang Basin who drank groundwater and were exposed to high concentrations of inorganic arsenic. According to the arsenic concentration of their drinking water, they were equally and randomly classified into four groups of 252 persons. It turned out that the higher the concentration of arsenic in well water was and thus the cumulative arsenic exposure, the higher the total inorganic arsenic metabolites in urine (total As(i)) and the overall inorganic and organic arsenic in urine (overall As(i+o)) were. The percentage of inorganic arsenic significantly decreased and the DMA percentage significantly increased as the concentration of urinary selenium and serum alpha-tocopherol increased. It appeared that urinary selenium levels increased the metabolism by methylation of arsenic, a finding that requires further investigation.
Hsueh
Yu-Mei
YM
Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, No. 250, Wu Hsin Street, 110, Taipei, Taiwan. ymhsueh@tmu.edu.tw
Ko
Yih-Fu
YF
Huang
Yung-Kay
YK
Chen
Hui-Wen
HW
Chiou
Hung-Yi
HY
Huang
Ya-Li
YL
Yang
Mo-Hsiung
MH
Chen
Chien-Jen
CJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001151:Arsenic / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008658:Inactivation, Metabolic; D008297:Male; D008745:Methylation; D008875:Middle Aged; D012643:Selenium / Q000652:urine*; D013624:Taiwan; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood
D024502:alpha-Tocopherol; D012643:Selenium; D001151:Arsenic