Correlation of arsenic exposure through drinking groundwater and urinary arsenic excretion among adults in Pakistan.
Document Type
Article
Department
Community Health Sciences
Abstract
Long-term exposure to arsenic has been associated with manifestation of skin lesions (melanosis/keratosis) and increased risk of internal cancers (lung/bladder). The objective of the study described here was to determine the relationship between exposure of arsenic through drinking groundwater and urinary arsenic excretion among adults > or =15 years of age living in Khairpur district, Pakistan. Total arsenic was determined in drinking groundwater and in spot urine samples of 465 randomly selected individuals through hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated between arsenic in drinking groundwater and arsenic excreted in urine. The median arsenic concentration in drinking water was 2.1 microg/L (range: 0.1-350), and in urine was 28.5 microg/L (range: 0.1-848). Positive correlation was found between total arsenic in drinking water and in urine (r = .52, p < .01). Urinary arsenic may be used as a biomarker of arsenic exposure through drinking water.
Recommended Citation
Ahmed, M.,
Fatmi, Z.,
Ali, A.
(2014). Correlation of arsenic exposure through drinking groundwater and urinary arsenic excretion among adults in Pakistan..
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_chs_chs/175
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.