title: Arsenic exposure from drinking water, arsenic methylation capacity, and carotid intima-media thickness in Bangladesh.
abstract: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the interrelationships between past arsenic exposure, biomarkers specific for susceptibility to arsenic exposure, and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in 959 subjects from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh. We measured cIMT levels on average 7.2 years after baseline during 2010-2011. Arsenic exposure was measured in well water at baseline and in urine samples collected at baseline and during follow-up. Every 1-standard-deviation increase in urinary arsenic (357.9 µg/g creatinine) and well-water arsenic (102.0 µg/L) concentration was related to a 11.7-µm (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8, 21.6) and 5.1-µm (95% CI: -0.2, 10.3) increase in cIMT, respectively. For every 10% increase in monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) percentage, there was an increase of 12.1 µm (95% CI: 0.4, 23.8) in cIMT. Among participants with a higher urinary MMA percentage, a higher ratio of urinary MMA to inorganic arsenic, and a lower ratio of dimethylarsinic acid to MMA, the association between well-water arsenic and cIMT was stronger. The findings indicate an effect of past long-term arsenic exposure on cIMT, which may be potentiated by suboptimal or incomplete arsenic methylation capacity. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm the association between arsenic methylation capacity and atherosclerosis-related outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Population Health and Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, New York University, 650 First Avenue, Room 510, New York, NY 10016, USA. yu.chen@nyumc.org
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Joseph H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Graziano
authors.forename: Faruque
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parvez
authors.forename: Mengling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Rina Rani
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Ishrat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shaheen
authors.forename: Golam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarwar
authors.forename: Alauddin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Tariqul
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Slavkovich
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rundek
authors.forename: Ryan T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Demmer
authors.forename: Moise
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desvarieux
authors.forename: Habibul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahsan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000652:urine; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D002101:Cacodylic Acid / Q000652:urine; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D015984:Causality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008745:Methylation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis; D060986:Water Wells / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D001152:Arsenicals; D015415:Biomarkers; D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002101:Cacodylic Acid; C020300:monomethylarsonic acid; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Bangladesh; arsenic; cardiovascular diseases; carotid intima-media thickness; drinking water