Community-based Randomized Double-blind Study of Gastrointestinal Effects and Copper Exposure in Drinking Water

Overview

Journal Environ Health Perspect

Date 2004 Jul 9

PMID 15238279

Citations 10

Authors

Magdalena Araya

Manuel Olivares

Fernando Pizarro

Adolfo Llanos

Guillermo Figueroa

Ricardo Uauy

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

We assessed gastrointestinal effects in 1,365 adults exposed to either < 0.01 (controls), 2, 4, or 6 mg copper/L of drinking water for 2 months in a randomized, double-blind community-based study. The risk of symptoms increased with increasing Cu exposure and decreased with time. The best model by counting-process analysis included Cu concentration and sex. The risk of symptoms remained significantly higher in women than in men during weeks 1-4 for all concentrations tested; at week 1 comparison with the < 0.01-mg/L group showed that differences became significant in women at 4 mg/L [relative risk (RR) = 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-2.05), and in men at 6 mg/L (RR = 1.9; 95% CI, 1.02-2.79). At week 2 for men and week 4 in women, the Cu concentration required to obtain significant differences on symptom report was > 6 mg Cu/L. We conclude that exposure to Cu in drinking water results in gastrointestinal symptoms, which are modulated by Cu concentration, time, and sex.

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