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Comparison of health effects between individuals with and without skin lesions in the population exposed to arsenic through drinking water in West Bengal, India

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 17, pages 215–223 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

A study was conducted to explore the effect of arsenic causing conjunctivitis, neuropathy and respiratory illness in individuals, with or without skin lesions, as a result of exposure through drinking water, contaminated with arsenic to similar extent. Exposed study population belongs to the districts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia, West Bengal, India. A total of 725 exposed (373 with skin lesions and 352 without skin lesions) and 389 unexposed individuals were recruited as study participants. Participants were clinically examined and interviewed. Arsenic content in drinking water, urine, nail and hair was estimated. Individuals with skin lesion showed significant retention of arsenic in nail and hair and lower amount of urinary arsenic compared to the group without any skin lesion. Individuals with skin lesion also showed higher risk for conjunctivitis ((odd's ratio) OR: 7.33, 95% CI: 5.05–10.59), peripheral neuropathy (OR: 3.95, 95% CI: 2.61–5.93) and respiratory illness (OR: 4.86, 95% CI: 3.16–7.48) compared to the group without any skin lesion. The trend test for OR of the three diseases in three groups was found to be statistically significant. Again, individuals without skin lesion in the exposed group showed higher risk for conjunctivitis (OR: 4.66, 95% CI: 2.45–8.85), neuropathy (OR: 3.99, 95% CI: 1.95–8.09), and respiratory illness (OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 1.65–6.26) when compared to arsenic unexposed individuals. Although individuals with skin lesions were more susceptible to arsenic-induced toxicity, individuals without skin lesions were also subclinically affected and are also susceptible to arsenic-induced toxicity and carcinogenicity when compared to individuals not exposed to arsenic.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India for funding the study (project no. CMM 003) and for providing research fellowships to PG, MB, SDC and RC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular and Human Genetics, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India

    Pritha Ghosh, Mayukh Banerjee, Sujata De Chaudhuri, Rajdeep Chowdhury, Apurba Banerjee, Arindam Basu, Keya Chaudhuri, Kunal Ray & Ashok K Giri

  2. Department of Dermatology, West Bank Hospital, Howrah, India

    Jayanta K Das

  3. Department of Neurology, Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, India

    Angshuman Mukherjee

  4. Peerless Hospital and B.K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata, India

    Ajoy K Sarkar

  5. Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Calcutta Medical College Campus, Kolkata, India

    Lakshmikanta Mondal & Kalipada Baidya

  6. Department of Medicine, Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata, India

    Tanmoy Jyoti Sau

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  1. Pritha Ghosh
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Correspondence to Ashok K Giri.

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Ghosh, P., Banerjee, M., De Chaudhuri, S. et al. Comparison of health effects between individuals with and without skin lesions in the population exposed to arsenic through drinking water in West Bengal, India. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 17, 215–223 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500510

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500510

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