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

Abstract

OPS 24: Drinking water contamination and children’s health, Room 411, Floor 4, August 27, 2019, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Background: Inorganic arsenic (As) exposure from drinking water has been related to cardiovascular disease and increased blood pressure (BP) in adults. However, evidence of the association between inorganic As exposure, especially early-life exposure, and BP in adolescence is limited. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 726 adolescents aged 14–17 (mean 14.75) years whose mothers were participants in the Bangladesh Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS). Adolescents’ BP was measured at the time of their recruitment between December 2012 and December 2016. We considered maternal urinary As (UAs) which was repeatedly measured during childhood as proxy measures of early childhood (< 5 years old, T1) and childhood (5-12 years old, T2) exposure and current UAs from the adolescents at the time of the recruitment (14-17 years of age, T3). Results: Every doubling of UAs at T3 and maternal UAs at T1 was positively associated with a difference of 0.7-mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.1, 1.3) and a 0.7-mmHg (95% CI: 0.05, 1.4) in SBP, respectively. These associations were stronger in adolescents with a BMI above the median (17.7 kg/m2) than those with a BMI below the median (P for interaction = 0.03 and 0.03, respectively). There was no significant association between any of the exposure measures and DBP. Mixture analyses using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression identified UAs at T3 as a significant contributor to SBP and DBP independent of other concurrent blood levels of cadmium, lead, manganese, and selenium. Conclusions: Our findings suggest an association of current exposure and early childhood exposure to As with higher BP in adolescents, which may be exacerbated by higher BMI at adolescence.