Arsenic Residues in Eggs from Laying Hens Fed with a Diet Containing Arsenic (III) Oxide

Three groups of six hens each were fed for twelve days with diets containing 7.5, 15.0, and 30.0 mg arsenic per kg in the form of As₂O₃. A control group was included in the trial. The hens from each group were formed into three subgroups. The eggs of two hens, laid in three days, formed a composite sample. The As concentration in the egg whites and yolks was determined in duplicate by radiochemical neutron activation analysis. With increasing As concentration in the poultry feedstuff, its concentration in egg yolk and white also increased, but a plateau appears to be reached quite rapidly. The ratio between the As concentration in yolk and in white is nearly constant (1:3) for all three groups of hens, irrespective of the level of As in the feed. The concentration of arsenic in dry matter of whites was significantly higher than in the dry matter of yolks, while the concentrations of arsenic in fresh samples of yolks were higher in the comparison with fresh samples of whites, but the differences were not significant. Received: 12 February 1996/Revised: 15 August 1996     

The Effect of Dietary Arsenic Additions on the Distribution of Selenium and Iodine in Eggs and Tissues of Laying Hens

The aim of the work was to determine the short-term effect (19 days) of dietary As additions (30 g As/g in the form As₂O₃) on the Se and I concentrations in eggs and tissues of 49-week-old Rhode Island Red laying hens. Se and I concentrations were determined in eggs collected from the 8^th to the 10^th and from the 17^th to the 19^th days of the experiment. After 19 days, blood was collected by anterior heart puncture, and after slaughter the liver, kidney, lung, muscle (musculus pectoralis superficialis) and feathers were collected. Se and I concentrations were determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis and the results expressed on a dry matter basis. In the control and the exposed group, the highest Se concentrations were found in kidney, followed by liver, blood, lung, muscle, and feathers. In the control group the highest I concentration was found in feathers, followed by kidney, blood, lungs, liver, and muscle. In the trial group, the order was almost the same, except that blood concentration was lower than in liver. As₂O₃ added to the feed significantly increased the Se concentration in the lung (p = 0.0216), I concentration in muscle (p = 0.0112) and significantly decreased I concentration in blood (p = 0.0371). It had no effect on the concentrations of Se and I in egg yolk and white.     

Effect of Various Copper Supplements to Feed of Laying Hens on Cu Content in Eggs, Liver, Excreta, Soil, and Herbage

Copper is often added to poultry diets as an antimicrobial agent at doses greatly exceeding the nutritional requirement. In this study, the basal diet of laying hens containing 9.2 mg Cu/kg was supplemented with CuSO₄ċ5H₂O at 0, 25, 65, 115, and 240 mg Cu/kg dry matter (DM). At Cu dietary concentration just below the level permitted by the European Union (35 mg/kg), the Cu content in the egg yolk was significantly (p < 0.05) increased by 26%, and nonsignificantly by 4.1, 9.1, and 7.9% in the egg white, eggshell, and liver, respectively. When Cu concentration in the diet was doubled, the effect of Cu on Cu content in eggshell and liver was statistically significant as well. In no liver sample was the hygienic limit of Cu content (80 mg/kg) exceeded. Supplementation of diets with Cu increased Cu concentration in excreta linearly from 25.3 to 396.8 mg/kg DM. Dried excreta were used for fertilization of grassland at 21 g N/m². Three months later, soil and herbage were sampled and analyzed. The Cu concentration in soil increased from 25.3 to only 46.4 mg/kg DM when dietary Cu concentration rose from 9.2 to 243.7 mg Cu/kg DM. Corresponding Cu concentrations in herbage were 6.8 and 19.2 mg/kg DM. It can be concluded that the deposition of Cu in eggs and liver of hens fed Cu-supplemented diets does not represent a hygienic risk. The accumulation of Cu in soil fertilized with excreta of Cu-fed hens and in herbage was limited.     

Child Intelligence and Reductions in Water Arsenic and Manganese: A Two-Year Follow-up Study in Bangladesh

Background:

Arsenic (As) exposure from drinking water is associated with modest intellectual deficits in childhood. It is not known whether reducing exposure is associated with improved intelligence.

Objective:

We aimed to determine whether reducing As exposure is associated with improved child intellectual outcomes.

Methods:

Three hundred three 10-year-old children drinking from household wells with a wide range of As concentrations were enrolled at baseline. In the subsequent year, deep community wells, low in As, were installed in villages of children whose original wells had high water As (WAs ≥ 50 μg/L). For 296 children, intelligence was assessed by WISC-IV (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th ed.), with a version modified for the study population, at baseline and approximately 2 years later; analyses considered standardized scores for both Full Scale IQ and Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed Indices. Creatinine-adjusted urinary arsenic (UAs/Cr), blood As (BAs), and blood manganese (BMn) were assessed at both times.

Results:

UAs/Cr concentrations declined significantly by follow-up for both the high (≥ 50 μg/L) and low (< 50 μg/L) WAs subgroups. At baseline, adjusting for maternal age and intelligence, plasma ferritin, head circumference, home environment quality, school grade, and BMn, UAs/Cr was significantly negatively associated with Full Scale IQ, and with all Index scores (except Processing Speed). After adjustment for baseline Working Memory scores and school grade, each 100-μg/g reduction in UAs/Cr from baseline to follow-up was associated with a 0.91 point increase in Working Memory (95% CI: 0.14, 1.67). The change in UAs/Cr across follow-up was not significantly associated with changes in Full Scale IQ or Index scores.

Conclusions:

Installation of deep, low-As community wells lowered UAs, BAs, and BMn. A greater decrease in UAs/Cr was associated with greater improvements in Working Memory scores, but not with a greater improvement in Full Scale IQ.

Citation:

Wasserman GA, Liu X, Parvez F, Factor-Litvak P, Kline J, Siddique AB, Shahriar H, Uddin MN, van Geen A, Mey JL, Balac O, Graziano JH. 2016. Child intelligence and reductions in water arsenic and manganese: a two-year follow-up study in Bangladesh. Environ Health Perspect 124:1114–1120; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509974     

Arsenic Exposure During Pregnancy and Size at Birth: A Prospective Cohort Study in Bangladesh

The authors evaluated the association of prenatal arsenic exposurewith size at birth (birth weight, birth length, head and chestcircumferences). This prospective cohort study, based on 1,578mother-infant pairs, was conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh, in2002–2003. Arsenic exposure was assessed by analysis ofarsenic in urine collected at around gestational weeks 8 and30. The association of arsenic exposure with size at birth wasassessed by linear regression analyses. In analysis over thefull range of exposure (6–978 µg/L), no dose-effectassociation was found with birth size. However, significantnegative dose effects were found with birth weight and headand chest circumferences at a low level of arsenic exposure(<100 µg/L in urine). In this range of exposure, birthweight decreased by 1.68 (standard error (SE), 0.62) g for each1-µg/L increase of arsenic in urine. For head and chestcircumferences, the corresponding reductions were 0.05 (SE,0.03) mm and 0.14 (SE, 0.03) mm per 1 µg/L, respectively.No further negative effects were shown at higher levels of arsenicexposure. The indicated negative effect on birth size at a lowlevel of arsenic exposure warrants further investigation. arsenic; Bangladesh; birth weight; cohort studies; maternal exposure; urine     

A Prospective Study of Arsenic Exposure,Arsenic Methylation Capacity,and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Bangladesh

Background: Few prospective studies have evaluated the influence of arsenic methylation capacity on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.Objective: We evaluated the association of arsenic exposure from drinking water and arsenic methylation capacity with CVD risk.Method: We conducted a case–cohort study of 369 incident fatal and nonfatal cases of CVD, including 211 cases of heart disease and 148 cases of stroke, and a subcohort of 1,109 subjects randomly selected from the 11,224 participants in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS).Results: The adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for all CVD, heart disease, and stroke in association with a 1-SD increase in baseline well-water arsenic (112 µg/L) were 1.15 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.30), 1.20 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.38), and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.90, 1.30), respectively. aHRs for the second and third tertiles of percentage urinary monomethylarsonic acid (MMA%) relative to the lowest tertile, respectively, were 1.27 (95% CI: 0.85, 1.90) and 1.55 (95% CI: 1.08, 2.23) for all CVD, and 1.65 (95% CI: 1.05, 2.60) and 1.61 (95% CI: 1.04, 2.49) for heart disease specifically. The highest versus lowest ratio of urinary dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) to MMA was associated with a significantly decreased risk of CVD (aHR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.85) and heart disease (aHR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.88). There was no significant association between arsenic metabolite indices and stroke risk. The effects of incomplete arsenic methylation capacity—indicated by higher urinary MMA% or lower urinary DMA%—with higher levels of well-water arsenic on heart disease risk were additive. There was some evidence of a synergy of incomplete methylation capacity with older age and cigarette smoking.Conclusions: Arsenic exposure from drinking water and the incomplete methylation capacity of arsenic were adversely associated with heart disease risk.     

No Association between Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

Background

The long-term effects of arsenic exposure from drinking water at levels < 300 μg/L and the risk of diabetes mellitus remains a controversial topic.

Method

We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using baseline data from 11,319 participants in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to evaluate the associations of well water arsenic and total urinary arsenic concentration and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and glucosuria. We also assessed the concentrations of well water arsenic, total urinary arsenic, and urinary arsenic metabolites in relation to blood glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in subsets of the study population.

Results

More than 90% of the cohort members were exposed to drinking water with arsenic concentration < 300 μg/L. We found no association between arsenic exposure and the prevalence of diabetes. The adjusted odds ratios for diabetes were 1.00 (referent), 1.35 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.90–2.02], 1.24 (0.82–1.87), 0.96 (0.62–1.49), and 1.11 (0.73–1.69) in relation to quintiles of time-weighted water arsenic concentrations of 0.1–8, 8–41, 41–91, 92–176, and ≥ 177 μg/L, respectively, and 1.00 (referent), 1.29 (0.87–1.91), 1.05 (0.69–1.59), 0.94 (0.61–1.44), and 0.93 (0.59–1.45) in relation to quintiles of urinary arsenic concentrations of 1–36, 37–66, 67–114, 115–204, and ≥ 205 μg/L, respectively. We observed no association between arsenic exposure and prevalence of glucosuria and no evidence of an association between well water arsenic, total urinary arsenic, or the composition of urinary arsenic metabolites and HbA1c level.

Conclusions

Our findings do not support an association of arsenic exposure from drinking water and a significantly increased risk of diabetes mellitus in the range of levels observed. Further prospective studies would be valuable in confirming the findings.     

Arsenic exposure and anemia in Bangladesh: a population-based study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between arsenic exposure and anemia, based on blood hemoglobin concentration. METHODS: Hemoglobin measures, skin lesions, arsenic exposure, and nutritional and demographic information were collected from 1954 Bangladeshi participants in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study. We used general linear modeling to assess the association between arsenic exposure and hemoglobin concentration, examining men and women separately. RESULTS: Arsenic exposure (urinary arsenic >200 microg/L) was negatively associated with hemoglobin among all men and among women with hemoglobin <10 d/L. Other predictors of anemia in men and women included older age, lower body mass index, and low intake of iron. Among women, the use of contraceptives predicted higher hemoglobin. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests an association between high arsenic exposure and anemia in Bangladesh.     

Toxic Metals in Hens' Eggs in India: A Preliminary Report

Lung function, biochemistry, and histology were examined in 34 silicotic and 29 control rats. Silicosis was produced by intratracheal injection of 50 mg of quartz dust. Pulmonary function tests four months after dusting showed the following changes in the silicotic rats: increases in frequency of breathing, functional residual lung capacity, lung resistance, work of breathing, oxygen consumption, and carbon dioxide tension of aortic blood; and decreased lung compliance and oxygen tension of aortic blood. Biochemical studies revealed a more than fivefold increase in wet weight of silicotic lungs and an eightfold increase in total amount of hydroxy-proline. Histologically, there were many fibrotic nodules present with emphysema in the remaining portions of the silicotic lungs. Correlation of morphological, biochemical, and functional changes and the importance of the animal-model experiments to functional examination are discussed.     

Arsenic Exposure to Dairy Cows in Bangladesh

Food-chain contamination by arsenic (As) is a newly uncovered disaster. Effects of As-contaminated drinking water and paddy straw on the excretion of As through milk, urine, and dung of dairy cows (n = 240) were studied in As-prone areas of Bangladesh. Mean (±SEM) total As (inorganic plus organic) concentration in drinking water, paddy straw [dry weight dw)], cow’s urine (specific gravity adjusted to 1.035), dung (dw), and milk (wet weight) were 89.6 ± 6.5 μg/l, 1,114.4 ± 57.3 μg/kg, 123.6 ± 7.6 μg/l, 1,693.0 ± 65.1 μg/kg, and 26.2 ± 2.8 μg/l, respectively. Significantly (p < 0.01) greater As was in Boro straw (1,386.9 ± 71.8 μg/kg) than Aus (702.4 ± 67.1 μg/kg) and Aman (431.7 ± 28.8 μg/kg) straw and in straw irrigated with shallow (1,697.3 ± 81.9 μg/kg) than deep well water (583.6 ± 62.7 μg/kg) and surface water (511.8 ± 30.0 μg/kg). Significant (p < 0.01) positive correlations were found between As contents of cow’s urine and drinking water (r = 0.92) as well as cow dung and straw (r = 0.82). Concentrations of As in cow urine, dung, and milk were increased with the relative increment of As in drinking water and/or straw. These results provide evidence that dairy cows excrete ingested As mainly through urine and dung; thus, As biotransformation through milk remains low. This low concentration of As in milk may be of concern when humans are exposed to multiple sources of As simultaneously. Moreover, As in cow dung could be an environmental issue in Bangladesh.     

富硒蛋鸡硒水平的研究

在蛋鸡饲料中添加有机硒 ,通过生物转化可以提高鸡体的硒含量 ,从而生产富硒鸡肉和鸡蛋。用新极谱法分别测定了富硒和对照蛋鸡的血、肉、蛋、毛及粪中的硒含量 ,测得富硒蛋鸡的硒含量分别为 4 5 1 9±4 2 1μg/L、0 2 0 6± 0 0 0 6mg/kg、0 4 15± 0 0 5 2mg/kg、1 6 6 3± 0 199mg/kg及 1 349± 0 2 39mg/kg ,分别为对照蛋鸡的 4 8、1 6、3 8、5 0及 31倍。     

Arsenic contamination in ground water and arsenicosis in Bangladesh

Arsenic contamination of ground water has been found in Rajarampur village in the Nawabgonj district of north-western Bangladesh. A recent survey has indicated that 11% of tubewell water contains arsenic in the range 0.01 mg/l to 0.05 mg/l, and 29% above the WHO maximum permissible limit of 0.05 mg/l. None of the water samples from tubewells of less than 60 ft depth showed arsenic levels above 0.05 mg/l. Of the 1273 people exposed to this contaminated water supply 7.5% showed clinical manifestations of arsenicosis. The majority of these (59.4%) were female. There were no cases below 7 years of age. The most frequently seen clinical manifestations were melanosis (98.9%), keratosis (92.7%), hyperkeratosis (45.8%), depigmentation (29.2%), anorexia (26.0%) and cough (25.0%). Hepatomegaly was detected in 3.2% of the population and there was one case of squamous-cell carcinoma. The article also describes the use of a validated field test for the detection of arsenic in water.     

Interaction between Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Genetic Polymorphisms on Cardiovascular Disease in Bangladesh: A Prospective Case-Cohort Study

Background: Epidemiologic data on genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular effects of arsenic exposure from drinking water are limited.Objective: We investigated whether the association between well-water arsenic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) differed by 170 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 17 genes related to arsenic metabolism, oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction.Method: We conducted a prospective case-cohort study nested in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study, with a random subcohort of 1,375 subjects and 447 incident fatal and nonfatal cases of CVD. Well-water arsenic was measured in 2000 at baseline. The CVD cases, 56 of which occurred in the subcohort, included 238 coronary heart disease cases, 165 stroke cases, and 44 deaths due to other CVD identified during follow-up from 2000 to 2012.Results: Of the 170 SNPs tested, multiplicative interactions between well-water arsenic and two SNPs, rs281432 in ICAM1 (p_adj = 0.0002) and rs3176867 in VCAM1 (p_adj = 0.035), were significant for CVD after adjustment for multiple testing. Compared with those with GC or CC genotype in rs281432 and lower well-water arsenic, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for CVD was 1.82 (95% CI: 1.31, 2.54) for a 1-SD increase in well-water arsenic combined with the GG genotype, which was greater than expected given aHRs of 1.08 and 0.96 for separate effects of arsenic and the genotype alone, respectively. Similarly, the joint aHR for arsenic and the rs3176867 CC genotype was 1.34 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.87), greater than expected given aHRs for their separate effects of 1.02 and 0.84, respectively.Conclusions: Associations between CVD and arsenic exposure may be modified by genetic variants related to endothelial dysfunction.Citation: Wu F, Jasmine F, Kibriya MG, Liu M, Cheng X, Parvez F, Islam T, Ahmed A, Rakibuz-Zaman M, Jiang J, Roy S, Paul-Brutus R, Slavkovich V, Islam T, Levy D, VanderWeele TJ, Pierce BL, Graziano JH, Ahsan H, Chen Y. 2015. Interaction between arsenic exposure from drinking water and genetic polymorphisms on cardiovascular disease in Bangladesh: a prospective case-cohort study. Environ Health Perspect 123:451–457; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307883     

Influence of Cobalamin on Arsenic Metabolism in Bangladesh

Background

Arsenic is a carcinogen to which 35 million people in Bangladesh are chronically exposed. The enzymatic transfer of methyl groups to inorganic As (iAs) generates monomethylarsonic (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acids (DMA) and facilitates urinary As (uAs) elimination. This process is dependent on one-carbon metabolism, a pathway in which folate and cobalamin have essential roles in the recruitment and transfer of methyl groups. Although DMA^V is the least toxic metabolite, increasing evidence suggests that MMA^III may be the most cytotoxic and genotoxic As intermediary metabolite.

Objective

We examined the associations between plasma cobalamin and uAs metabolites.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 778 Bangladeshi adults in which we over-sampled cobalamin-deficient participants. Participants provided blood samples for the measurement of plasma cobalamin and urine specimens for As measurements.

Results

Cobalamin was inversely associated with the proportion of total uAs excreted as iAs (%iAs) [unstandardized regression coefficient (b) = –0.10; 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.17 to −0.02; p = 0.01] and positively associated with %MMA (b = 0.12; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.20; p = 0.001). Both of these associations were stronger among folate-sufficient participants (%iAs: b = −0.17; 95% CI, −0.30 to −0.03; p = 0.02. %MMA: b = 0.20; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.30; p < 0.0001), and the differences by folate status were statistically significant.

Conclusions

In this group of Bangladeshi adults, cobalamin appeared to facilitate the first As methylation step among folate-sufficient individuals. Given the toxicity of MMA^III, our findings suggest that in contrast to folate, cobalamin may not favorably influence As metabolism.     

Arsenic exposure and motor function among children in Bangladesh

Background: Several reports indicate that drinking water arsenic (WAs) and manganese (WMn) are associated with children’s intellectual function. Very little is known, however, about possible associations with other neurologic outcomes such as motor function.Methods: We investigated the associations of WAs and WMn with motor function in 304 children in Bangladesh, 8–11 years of age. We measured As and Mn concentrations in drinking water, blood, urine, and toenails. We assessed motor function with the Bruininks-Oseretsky test, version 2, in four subscales—fine manual control (FMC), manual coordination (MC), body coordination (BC), and strength and agility—which can be summarized with a total motor composite score (TMC).Results: Log-transformed blood As was associated with decreases in TMC [β = –3.63; 95% confidence interval (CI): –6.72, –0.54; p < 0.01], FMC (β = –1.68; 95% CI: –3.19, –0.18; p < 0.05), and BC (β = –1.61; 95% CI: –2.72, –0.51; p < 0.01), with adjustment for sex, school attendance, head circumference, mother’s intelligence, plasma ferritin, and blood Mn, lead, and selenium. Other measures of As exposure (WAs, urinary As, and toenail As) also were inversely associated with motor function scores, particularly TMC and BC. Square-transformed blood selenium was positively associated with TMC (β = 3.54; 95% CI: 1.10, 6.0; p < 0.01), FMC (β = 1.55; 95% CI: 0.40, 2.70; p < 0.005), and MC (β = 1.57; 95% CI: 0.60, 2.75; p < 0.005) in the unadjusted models. Mn exposure was not significantly associated with motor function.Conclusion: Our research demonstrates an adverse association of As exposure and a protective association of Se on motor function in children.