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 mu g/liter of arsenic, drinking water containing 8.1-40.0, 40.1-91.0, 91.1-175.0, and 175.1-864.0 mu g/liter of arsenic was associated with adjusted prevalence odds ratios of skin lesions of 1.91 (95% confidence interval (Cl): 1.26, 2.89), 3.03 (95% Cl: 2.05, 4.50), 3.71 (95% Cl: 2.53, 5.44), and 5.39 (95% Cl: 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.
055BLTimes Cited:17Cited References Count:43