1. Chronic respiratory symptoms in children following in utero and early life exposure to arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh
- Author
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Smith, Allan H, Yunus, Mohammad, Khan, Al Fazal, Ercumen, Ayse, Yuan, Yan, Smith, Meera Hira, Liaw, Jane, Balmes, John, von Ehrenstein, Ondine, Raqib, Rubhana, Kalman, David, Alam, Dewan S, Streatfield, Peter K, and Steinmaus, Craig
- Subjects
Public Health ,Health Sciences ,Infectious Diseases ,Perinatal Period - Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period ,Pediatric ,Prevention ,Clinical Research ,Lung ,Foodborne Illness ,2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment ,Respiratory ,Adolescent ,Arsenic ,Bangladesh ,Child ,Drinking Water ,Environmental Exposure ,Epidemiologic Methods ,Female ,Forced Expiratory Volume ,Humans ,Male ,Pregnancy ,Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ,Respiration Disorders ,Vital Capacity ,Water Pollutants ,Chemical ,lung function ,respiratory ,pulmonary ,in utero ,children ,Statistics ,Public Health and Health Services ,Epidemiology ,Public health - Abstract
BackgroundArsenic exposure via drinking water increases the risk of chronic respiratory disease in adults. However, information on pulmonary health effects in children after early life exposure is limited.MethodsThis population-based cohort study set in rural Matlab, Bangladesh, assessed lung function and respiratory symptoms of 650 children aged 7-17 years. Children with in utero and early life arsenic exposure were compared with children exposed to less than 10 µg/l in utero and throughout childhood. Because most children drank the same water as their mother had drunk during pregnancy, we could not assess only in utero or only childhood exposure.ResultsChildren exposed in utero to more than 500 µg/l of arsenic were more than eight times more likely to report wheezing when not having a cold [odds ratio (OR) = 8.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66-42.6, P < 0.01] and more than three times more likely to report shortness of breath when walking on level ground (OR = 3.86, 95% CI: 1.09-13.7, P = 0.02) and when walking fast or climbing (OR = 3.19, 95% CI: 1.22-8.32, P < 0.01]. However, there was little evidence of reduced lung function in either exposure category.ConclusionsChildren with high in utero and early life arsenic exposure had marked increases in several chronic respiratory symptoms, which could be due to in utero exposure or to early life exposure, or to both. Our findings suggest that arsenic in water has early pulmonary effects and that respiratory symptoms are a better marker of early life arsenic toxicity than changes in lung function measured by spirometry.
- Published
- 2013