title: Arsenic exposure from drinking water and risk of premalignant skin lesions in Bangladesh: baseline results from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study.
abstract: Millions of persons around the world are exposed to low doses of arsenic through drinking water. However, estimates of health effects associated with low-dose arsenic exposure have been extrapolated from high-dose studies. In Bangladesh, many persons have been exposed to a wide range of doses of arsenic from drinking water over a significant period of time. The authors evaluated dose-response relations between arsenic exposure from drinking water and premalignant skin lesions by using baseline data on 11,746 participants recruited in 2000-2002 for the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Several measures of arsenic exposure were estimated for each participant based on well-water arsenic concentration and usage pattern of the wells and on urinary arsenic concentration. In different regression models, consistent dose-response effects were observed for all arsenic exposure measures. Compared with drinking water containing <8.1 microg/liter of arsenic, drinking water containing 8.1-40.0, 40.1-91.0, 91.1-175.0, and 175.1-864.0 microg/liter of arsenic was associated with adjusted prevalence odds ratios of skin lesions of 1.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26, 2.89), 3.03 (95% CI: 2.05, 4.50), 3.71 (95% CI: 2.53, 5.44), and 5.39 (95% CI: 3.69, 7.86), respectively. The effect seemed to be influenced by gender, age, and body mass index. These findings provide information that should be considered in future research and policy decisions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. habibul.ahsan@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Habibul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahsan
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Faruque
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parvez
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zablotska
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Argos
authors.forename: Iftikhar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Hassina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Momotaj
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Zhongqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Slavkovich
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Geen
authors.forename: Geoffrey R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.forename: Joseph H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Graziano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic