No Association Between Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Diabetes Mellitus: a Cross-sectional Study in Bangladesh

Overview

Journal Environ Health Perspect

Date 2010 Sep 4

PMID 20813654

Citations 44

Authors

Yu Chen

Habibul Ahsan

Vesna Slavkovich

Gretchen Loeffler Peltier

Rebecca T Gluskin

Faruque Parvez

XinHua Liu

Joseph H Graziano

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The long-term effects of arsenic exposure from drinking water at levels < 300 microg/L and the risk of diabetes mellitus remains a controversial topic.

Method: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using baseline data from 11,319 participants in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to evaluate the associations of well water arsenic and total urinary arsenic concentration and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and glucosuria. We also assessed the concentrations of well water arsenic, total urinary arsenic, and urinary arsenic metabolites in relation to blood glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in subsets of the study population.

Results: More than 90% of the cohort members were exposed to drinking water with arsenic concentration < 300 microg/L. We found no association between arsenic exposure and the prevalence of diabetes. The adjusted odds ratios for diabetes were 1.00 (referent), 1.35 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.90-2.02], 1.24 (0.82-1.87), 0.96 (0.62-1.49), and 1.11 (0.73-1.69) in relation to quintiles of time-weighted water arsenic concentrations of 0.1-8, 8-41, 41-91, 92-176, and > or = 177 microg/L, respectively, and 1.00 (referent), 1.29 (0.87-1.91), 1.05 (0.69-1.59), 0.94 (0.61-1.44), and 0.93 (0.59-1.45) in relation to quintiles of urinary arsenic concentrations of 1-36, 37-66, 67-114, 115-204, and > or = 205 microg/L, respectively. We observed no association between arsenic exposure and prevalence of glucosuria and no evidence of an association between well water arsenic, total urinary arsenic, or the composition of urinary arsenic metabolites and HbA1c level.

Conclusions: Our findings do not support an association of arsenic exposure from drinking water and a significantly increased risk of diabetes mellitus in the range of levels observed. Further prospective studies would be valuable in confirming the findings.

Citing Articles

Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.

Schrenk D, Bignami M, Bodin L, Chipman J, Del Mazo J, Grasl-Kraupp B EFSA J. 2024; 22(1):e8488.

PMID: 38239496 PMC: 10794945. DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8488.

Association of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension with arsenic in drinking water in the Comarca Lagunera province (north-central Mexico).

Sanchez-Rodriguez B, Castillo-Maldonado I, Pedroza-Escobar D, Delgadillo-Guzman D, Soto-Jimenez M Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):9244.

PMID: 37286701 PMC: 10247736. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36166-5.

Research for type 2 diabetes mellitus in endemic arsenism areas in central China: role of low level of arsenic exposure and KEAP1 rs11545829 polymorphism.

Fan C, Zhan Z, Zhang X, Lou Q, Guo N, Su M Arch Toxicol. 2022; 96(6):1673-1683.

PMID: 35420349 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-022-03279-1.

Arsenic Exposure, Arsenic Metabolism, and Glycemia: Results from a Clinical Population in New York City.

Wu F, Chen Y, Navas-Acien A, Garabedian M, Coates J, Newman J Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(7).

PMID: 33916749 PMC: 8038318. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18073749.

Early life and adolescent arsenic exposure from drinking water and blood pressure in adolescence.

Chen Y, Wu F, Liu X, Parvez F, LoIacono N, Gibson E Environ Res. 2019; 178:108681.

PMID: 31520830 PMC: 7010462. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108681.

References

Jensen G, Hansen M . Occupational arsenic exposure and glycosylated haemoglobin. Analyst. 1998; 123(1):77-80. DOI: 10.1039/a705699k. View

Navas-Acien A, Silbergeld E, Pastor-Barriuso R, Guallar E . Rejoinder: Arsenic exposure and prevalence of type 2 diabetes: updated findings from the National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey, 2003-2006. Epidemiology. 2009; 20(6):816-20. PMC: 2956265. DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181afef88. View

Diaz-Villasenor A, Sanchez-Soto M, Cebrian M, Ostrosky-Wegman P, Hiriart M . Sodium arsenite impairs insulin secretion and transcription in pancreatic beta-cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2006; 214(1):30-4. DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2005.11.015. View

Das H, Mitra A, Sengupta P, Hossain A, Islam F, Rabbani G . Arsenic concentrations in rice, vegetables, and fish in Bangladesh: a preliminary study. Environ Int. 2004; 30(3):383-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2003.09.005. View

Olivarius N, Andreasen A, Vestbo E, Holstein-Rathlou N, Jorgensen L, Mogensen C . Urinary creatinine concentration is inversely related to glycaemic control and the presence of some diabetic complications in patients with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes. J Diabetes Complications. 2006; 20(1):45-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2005.05.010. View

Lewis D, Southwick J, Rench J, Calderon R . Drinking water arsenic in Utah: A cohort mortality study. Environ Health Perspect. 1999; 107(5):359-65. PMC: 1566417. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.99107359. View

Gamble M, Liu X . Urinary creatinine and arsenic metabolism. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(7):A442. PMC: 1257672. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.113-a442a. View

SLOT C . Plasma creatinine determination. A new and specific Jaffe reaction method. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1965; 17(4):381-7. DOI: 10.3109/00365516509077065. View

Navas-Acien A, Silbergeld E, Pastor-Barriuso R, Guallar E . Arsenic exposure and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in US adults. JAMA. 2008; 300(7):814-22. DOI: 10.1001/jama.300.7.814. View

10.

Nixon D, Mussmann G, Eckdahl S, Moyer T . Total arsenic in urine: palladium-persulfate vs nickel as a matrix modifier for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Clin Chem. 1991; 37(9):1575-9. View

11.

Hsueh Y, Chiou H, Huang Y, Wu W, Huang C, Yang M . Serum beta-carotene level, arsenic methylation capability, and incidence of skin cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1997; 6(8):589-96. View

12.

Yu R, Hsu K, Chen C, Froines J . Arsenic methylation capacity and skin cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2000; 9(11):1259-62. View

13.

Steinmaus C, Yuan Y, Liaw J, Smith A . Low-level population exposure to inorganic arsenic in the United States and diabetes mellitus: a reanalysis. Epidemiology. 2009; 20(6):807-15. DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181b0fd29. View

14.

Chen C, Kuo T, Wu M . Arsenic and cancers. Lancet. 1988; 1(8582):414-5. DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91207-x. View

15.

Nermell B, Lindberg A, Rahman M, Berglund M, Persson L, El Arifeen S . Urinary arsenic concentration adjustment factors and malnutrition. Environ Res. 2007; 106(2):212-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2007.08.005. View

16.

Sayeed M, Banu A, Khan A, Hussain M . Prevalence of diabetes and hypertension in a rural population of Bangladesh. Diabetes Care. 1995; 18(4):555-8. DOI: 10.2337/diacare.18.4.555. View

17.

Huang Y, Tseng C, Huang Y, Yang M, Chen C, Hsueh Y . Arsenic methylation capability and hypertension risk in subjects living in arseniasis-hyperendemic areas in southwestern Taiwan. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2006; 218(2):135-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2006.10.022. View

18.

Edelman D, Olsen M, Dudley T, Harris A, Oddone E . Utility of hemoglobin A1c in predicting diabetes risk. J Gen Intern Med. 2004; 19(12):1175-80. PMC: 1492588. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2004.40178.x. View

19.

Longnecker M . On confounded fishy results regarding arsenic and diabetes. Epidemiology. 2009; 20(6):821-3. DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181b26bce. View

20.

Zierold K, Knobeloch L, Anderson H . Prevalence of chronic diseases in adults exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water. Am J Public Health. 2004; 94(11):1936-7. PMC: 1448563. DOI: 10.2105/ajph.94.11.1936. View