title: Association of arsenic with kidney function in adolescents and young adults: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Long-term exposure to arsenic is a major public health concern. Emerging evidence suggests adverse health effects even at low levels of exposure. This study examined the association of arsenic exposure with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and compared methods of adjustment for urinary dilution in a representative sample of U.S. adolescents and young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a cross-sectional study of 1253 participants ages 12-30 years in the 2009-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with available urinary arsenic and eGFR measures. Multivariable linear regression was used to model the association of urinary total arsenic and dimethylarsinate (DMA) with eGFR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median urinary total arsenic and DMA concentrations were 6.3 μg/L (IQR 3.3-12.7 μg/L) and 3.3 μg/L (IQR 1.7-5.7 μg/L), respectively. Median eGFR was 109 mL/min/1.73 m(2). Adjusting arsenic for urine concentration with urinary creatinine, eGFR was 4.0 mL/min/1.73 m(2) higher (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-7.1 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) and 4.3mL/min/1.73 m(2) higher (95% CI 0.5-8.0 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) per log-unit increase in total arsenic and DMA, respectively. When using urine osmolality to adjust for urine concentration, a log-unit increase in total arsenic and DMA was associated with a 0.4 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (95% CI -1.8 to 1.1 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) and 0.01 (95% CI -1.9 to 1.9 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) lower eGFR, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Discordant associations were observed between arsenic and eGFR levels depending on whether urinary creatinine or osmolality was used to adjust for urine concentration. Further study should be dedicated to validating the best approach to account for urinary dilution in research in toxicants, and this may have implications for all studies which examine urinary biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: darcy@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Darcy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weidemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chin-Chi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Navas-Acien
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Alison G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fadrowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; GFR; NHANES; Urinary creatinine; Urine osmolality