TY - JOUR
T1 - Arsenic exposure from drinking water, and all-cause and chronic-disease mortalities in Bangladesh (HEALS)
T2 - A prospective cohort study
AU - Argos, Maria
AU - Kalra, Tara
AU - Rathouz, Paul J.
AU - Chen, Yu
AU - Pierce, Brandon
AU - Parvez, Faruque
AU - Islam, Tariqul
AU - Ahmed, Alauddin
AU - Rakibuz-Zaman, Muhammad
AU - Hasan, Rabiul
AU - Sarwar, Golam
AU - Slavkovich, Vesna
AU - Van Geen, Alexander
AU - Graziano, Joseph
AU - Ahsan, Habibul
N1 - Funding Information:
The research is supported by National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA (grants P42ES010349, R01CA102484, R01CA107431, P30ES009089, and P30CA014599 ).
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Background Millions of people worldwide are chronically exposed to arsenic through drinking water, including 35-77 million people in Bangladesh. The association between arsenic exposure and mortality rate has not been prospectively investigated by use of individual-level data. We therefore prospectively assessed whether chronic and recent changes in arsenic exposure are associated with all-cause and chronic-disease mortalities in a Bangladeshi population. Methods In the prospective cohort Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), trained physicians unaware of arsenic exposure interviewed in person and clinically assessed 11 746 population-based participants (aged 18-75 years) from Araihazar, Bangladesh. Participants were recruited from October, 2000, to May, 2002, and followed-up biennially. Data for mortality rates were available throughout February, 2009. We used Cox proportional hazards model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality, with adjustment for potential confounders, at different doses of arsenic exposure. Findings 407 deaths were ascertained between October, 2000, and February, 2009. Multivariate adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality in a comparison of arsenic at concentrations of 10.1-50.0 μg/L, 50.1-150.0 μg/L, and 150.1-864.0 μg/L with at least 10.0 μg/L in well water were 1.34 (95% CI 0.99-1.82), 1.09 (0.81-1.47), and 1.68 (1.26-2.23), respectively. Results were similar with daily arsenic dose and total arsenic concentration in urine. Recent change in exposure, measurement of total arsenic concentrations in urine repeated biennially, did not have much effect on the mortality rate. Interpretation Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water was associated with an increase in the mortality rate. Follow-up data from this cohort will be used to assess the long-term effects of arsenic exposure and how they might be affected by changes in exposure. However, solutions and resources are urgently needed to mitigate the resulting health effects of arsenic exposure.
AB - Background Millions of people worldwide are chronically exposed to arsenic through drinking water, including 35-77 million people in Bangladesh. The association between arsenic exposure and mortality rate has not been prospectively investigated by use of individual-level data. We therefore prospectively assessed whether chronic and recent changes in arsenic exposure are associated with all-cause and chronic-disease mortalities in a Bangladeshi population. Methods In the prospective cohort Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), trained physicians unaware of arsenic exposure interviewed in person and clinically assessed 11 746 population-based participants (aged 18-75 years) from Araihazar, Bangladesh. Participants were recruited from October, 2000, to May, 2002, and followed-up biennially. Data for mortality rates were available throughout February, 2009. We used Cox proportional hazards model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality, with adjustment for potential confounders, at different doses of arsenic exposure. Findings 407 deaths were ascertained between October, 2000, and February, 2009. Multivariate adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality in a comparison of arsenic at concentrations of 10.1-50.0 μg/L, 50.1-150.0 μg/L, and 150.1-864.0 μg/L with at least 10.0 μg/L in well water were 1.34 (95% CI 0.99-1.82), 1.09 (0.81-1.47), and 1.68 (1.26-2.23), respectively. Results were similar with daily arsenic dose and total arsenic concentration in urine. Recent change in exposure, measurement of total arsenic concentrations in urine repeated biennially, did not have much effect on the mortality rate. Interpretation Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water was associated with an increase in the mortality rate. Follow-up data from this cohort will be used to assess the long-term effects of arsenic exposure and how they might be affected by changes in exposure. However, solutions and resources are urgently needed to mitigate the resulting health effects of arsenic exposure.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60481-3
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60481-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 20646756
AN - SCOPUS:77955050878
SN - 0140-6736
VL - 376
SP - 252
EP - 258
JO - The Lancet
JF - The Lancet
IS - 9737
ER -