A preliminary assessment of low level arsenic exposure and diabetes mellitus in Cyprus

Konstantinos C Makris,Costas A Christophi,Adrienne S Ettinger,Martha Paisi

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-334

Konstantinos C Makris, Costas A Christophi + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-334

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundA preliminary study was undertaken in a community of Cyprus where low-level arsenic (As) concentrations were recently detected in the groundwater that was chronically used to satisfy potable needs of the community. The main objective of the study was to assess the degree of association between orally-ingested As and self-reported type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in 317 adult (≥18 years old) volunteers.MethodsCumulative lifetime As exposure (CLAEX) (mg As) was calculated using the median As concentrations in water, individual reported daily water consumption rates, and lifetime exposure duration. Logistic regression models were used to model the probability of self-reported DM and calculate odds ratios (OR) in univariate and multivariate models.ResultsSignificantly higher (p < 0.02) CLAEX values were reported for the diabetics (median = 999 mg As) versus non-diabetics (median = 573 mg As), suggesting that As exposure could perhaps be related to the prevalence of DM in the study area, which was 6.6%. The OR for DM, comparing participants in the 80th versus the 20th percentiles of low-level As CLAEX index values, was 5.0 (1.03, 24.17), but after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, education, and fish consumption, the As exposure effect on DM was not significant.ConclusionsFurther research is needed to improve As exposure assessment for the entire Cypriot population while assessing the exact relationship between low-level As exposure and DM.

Highlights

A preliminary study was undertaken in a community of Cyprus where low-level arsenic (As) concentrations were recently detected in the groundwater that was chronically used to satisfy potable needs of the community
A considerable shift has been directed towards the study of non-carcinogenic effects of As, such as dermal effects, adverse pregnancy outcomes, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, immune response, and type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
Different (p < 0.001) Cumulative lifetime As exposure (CLAEX) indices were observed by age (18–40, 40–60, and >60 years old) with the oldest group having the highest index and the median indices being: 336, 716 and 1483 mg As for each respective age group

Summary

Introduction

A preliminary study was undertaken in a community of Cyprus where low-level arsenic (As) concentrations were recently detected in the groundwater that was chronically used to satisfy potable needs of the community. Even though the dose response relationships for these various non-carcinogenic end points seem to be well-resolved for relatively high As. Human physiologic abnormalities associated with insulin resistance or the inability to produce enough insulin, an essential hormone used to regulate blood glucose levels and maintain cell metabolism, are reaching epidemic dimensions, worldwide. Known risk factors for DM include: obesity, older age, physical inactivity, family history, and genetic polymorphisms [10]. Environmental toxicants, such as As, have been implicated in the etiology of DM in epidemiologic and animal studies [11,12]. High exposure scenarios (> 100 μg L-1) have been studied in epidemiologic studies [5,13,14]. whereas only a few have focused on low-level As exposures (< 100 μg L-1) [15,16]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion