title: Arsenic speciation analysis of urine samples from individuals living in an arsenic-contaminated area in Bangladesh.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic inorganic arsenic (iAs) exposure currently affects tens of millions of people worldwide. To accurately determine the proportion of urinary arsenic metabolites in residents continuously exposed to iAs, we performed arsenic speciation analysis of the urine of these individuals and determined whether a correlation exists between the concentration of iAs in drinking water and the urinary arsenic species content.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 165 married couples who had lived in the Pabna District in Bangladesh for more than 5 years. Arsenic species were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median iAs concentration in drinking water was 55 μgAs/L (range <0.5-332 μgAs/L). Speciation analysis revealed the presence of arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid in urine samples with medians (range) of 16.8 (7.7-32.3), 1.8 (<0.5-3.3), 13.7 (5.6-25.0), and 88.6 μgAs/L (47.9-153.4 μgAs/L), respectively. No arsenobetaine or arsenocholine was detected. The concentrations of the 4 urinary arsenic species were significantly and linearly related to each other. The urinary concentrations of total arsenic and each species were significantly correlated with the iAs concentration of drinking water.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All urinary arsenic species are well correlated with each other and with iAs in drinking water. The most significant linear relationship existed between the iAs concentration in drinking water and urinary iAs + MMA concentration. From these results, combined with the effects of seafood ingestion, the best biomarker of iAs exposure is urinary iAs + MMA concentration.
authors: Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Akihisa
authors: A
authors: Hata
authors: Kenzo
authors: K
authors: Yamanaka
authors: Mohamed Ahsan
authors: MA
authors: Habib
authors: Yoko
authors: Y
authors: Endo
authors: Noboru
authors: N
authors: Fujitani
authors: Ginji
authors: G
authors: Endo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001149:Arsenates / Q000652:urine; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000652:urine*; D018053:Arsenites / Q000652:urine; D001459:Bangladesh; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D002101:Cacodylic Acid / Q000652:urine; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D001149:Arsenates; D001152:Arsenicals; D018053:Arsenites; D015415:Biomarkers; D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002101:Cacodylic Acid; C020300:monomethylarsonic acid; C015001:arsenite; D001151:Arsenic; C025657:arsenic acid