Dataset Information

Drinking water arsenic in northern chile: high cancer risks 40 years after exposure cessation.

ABSTRACT: Millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic-contaminated water. In the largest city in northern Chile (Antofagasta), more than 250,000 people were exposed to high arsenic drinking water concentrations from 1958 until 1970 when a water treatment plant was installed. Because of its unique geology, limited water sources, and good historical records, lifetime exposure and long-term latency patterns can be assessed in this area with better accuracy than in other arsenic-exposed areas worldwide.We conducted a population-based case-control study in northern Chile from October 2007 to December 2010 involving 232 bladder and 306 lung cancer cases and 640 age- and gender-matched controls, with detailed information on past exposure and potential confounders, including smoking and occupation.Bladder cancer ORs for quartiles of average arsenic concentrations in water before 1971 (<11, 11-90, 91-335, and >335 ?g/L) were 1.00, 1.36 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78-2.37], 3.87 (2.25-6.64), and 6.50 (3.69-11.43), respectively. Corresponding lung cancer ORs were 1.00, 1.27 (0.81-1.98), 2.00 (1.24-3.24), and 4.32 (2.60-7.17). Bladder and lung cancer ORs in those highly exposed in Antofagasta during 1958 to 1970 but not thereafter were 6.88 (3.84-12.32) and 4.35 (2.57-7.36), respectively.The lung and bladder cancer risks that we found up to 40 years after high exposures have ended are very high.Our findings suggest that prevention, treatment, and other mortality reduction efforts in arsenic-exposed countries will be needed for decades after exposure cessation.

SUBMITTER: Steinmaus CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3848421 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Drinking water arsenic in northern chile: high cancer risks 40 years after exposure cessation.

Steinmaus Craig M CM Ferreccio Catterina C Romo Johanna Acevedo JA Yuan Yan Y Cortes Sandra S Marshall Guillermo G Moore Lee E LE Balmes John R JR Liaw Jane J Golden Todd T Smith Allan H AH

Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology 20130125 4

<h4>Background</h4>Millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic-contaminated water. In the largest city in northern Chile (Antofagasta), more than 250,000 people were exposed to high arsenic drinking water concentrations from 1958 until 1970 when a water treatment plant was installed. Because of its unique geology, limited water sources, and good historical records, lifetime exposure and long-term latency patterns can be assessed in this area with better accuracy than in other arsenic-exp ...[more]

PMID: 23355602

Similar Datasets

Project description:Bladder cancer mortality rates have been elevated in northern New England for at least five decades. Incidence rates in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are about 20% higher than the United States overall. We explored reasons for this excess, focusing on arsenic in drinking water from private wells, which are particularly prevalent in the region.In a population-based case-control study in these three states, 1213 bladder cancer case patients and 1418 control subjects provided information on suspected risk factors. Log transformed arsenic concentrations were estimated by linear regression based on measurements in water samples from current and past homes. All statistical tests were two-sided.Bladder cancer risk increased with increasing water intake (Ptrend = .003). This trend was statistically significant among participants with a history of private well use (Ptrend = .01). Among private well users, this trend was apparent if well water was derived exclusively from shallow dug wells (which are vulnerable to contamination from manmade sources, Ptrend = .002) but not if well water was supplied only by deeper drilled wells (Ptrend = .48). If dug wells were used pre-1960, when arsenical pesticides were widely used in the region, heavier water consumers (>2.2?L/day) had double the risk of light users (<1.1?L/day, Ptrend = .01). Among all participants, cumulative arsenic exposure from all water sources, lagged 40 years, yielded a positive risk gradient (Ptrend = .004); among the highest-exposed participants (97.5th percentile), risk was twice that of the lowest-exposure quartile (odds ratio = 2.24, 95% confidence interval = 1.29 to 3.89).Our findings support an association between low-to-moderate levels of arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer risk in New England. In addition, historical consumption of water from private wells, particularly dug wells in an era when arsenical pesticides were widely used, was associated with increased bladder cancer risk and may have contributed to the New England excess.

Dataset Information

Drinking water arsenic in northern chile: high cancer risks 40 years after exposure cessation.

Publications

Drinking water arsenic in northern chile: high cancer risks 40 years after exposure cessation.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets