A Meta-analysis of Arsenic Exposure and Lung Function: Is There Evidence of Restrictive or Obstructive Lung Disease?
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ABSTRACT: PURPOSE OF REVIEW:Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic via contaminated water. The goal of this study was to identify whether arsenic-associated lung function deficits resemble obstructive- or restrictive-like lung disease, in order to help illuminate a mechanistic pathway and identify at-risk populations. RECENT FINDINGS:We recently published a qualitative systematic review outlining the body of research on arsenic and non-malignant respiratory outcomes. Evidence from several populations, at different life stages, and at different levels of exposure showed consistent associations of arsenic exposure with chronic lung disease mortality, respiratory symptoms, and lower lung function levels. The published review, however, only conducted a broad qualitative description of the published studies without considering specific spirometry patterns, without conducting a meta-analysis, and without evaluating the dose-response relationship. We searched PubMed and Embase for studies on environmental arsenic exposure and lung function. We performed a meta-analysis using inverse-variance-weighted random effects models to summarize adjusted effect estimates for arsenic and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC ratio. Across nine studies, median water arsenic levels ranged from 23 to 860 ?g/L. The pooled estimated mean difference (MD) comparing the highest category of arsenic exposure (ranging from >?11 to >?800 ?g/L) versus the lowest (ranging from
SUBMITTER: Sanchez TR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6149528 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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