title: Kidney cancer mortality: fifty-year latency patterns related to arsenic exposure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arsenic in drinking water is associated with kidney cancer. Beginning in 1958, a region of Chile experienced a rapid onset of high arsenic exposure in drinking water, followed by sharp declines when water treatment plants were installed in 1971.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the years 1950-1970, we obtained mortality data from death certificates for an exposed region and an unexposed region in Chile. We obtained computerized mortality data for all of Chile for 1971-2000.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Kidney cancer risks for the exposed region compared with the unexposed started to increase about 10 years after high arsenic exposures began in 1958. The peak kidney cancer mortality rate ratio (RR) was 3.4 (95% confidence interval = 2.2-5.1) for men in 1981-1985, with subsequent declines to 1.6 (1.2-2.1) by 1996-2000. Mortality RRs among women were 2.9 (1.8-4.7) in 1981-1985 but remained high longer than for men, increasing further to a RR of 4.4 (3.0-6.4) in 1991-1995. Early-life exposure resulted in an increased RR of 7.1 (3.1-14) for young adults aged 30-39 years, born just before or during the high exposure period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows a latency pattern of increased mortality from kidney cancer, continuing for at least 25 years after the high exposures began to decline. Early life exposure resulted in markedly higher kidney cancer mortality in young adults.
authors.affiliation: Arsenic Health Effects Research Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Catterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferreccio
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steinmaus
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liaw
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Allan H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D019992:Databases as Topic; D003644:Death Certificates; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D011930:Reaction Time