Author:
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Signes Pastor, Antonio J.; Carey, Manus; Vioque, Jesus; Navarrete Muñoz, Eva M.; Rodríguez Dehli, Cristina; Tardón, Adonina; Zubero, Begoña; Loreto, Santa Marina; Vrijheid, Martine; Casas, Maribel; Llop, Sabrina; Gonzalez Palacios, Sandra; Meharg, Andrew A.
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Abstract:
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Inorganic arsenic (i-As) is a non-threshold
human carcinogen that has been associated with several
adverse health outcomes. Exposure to i-As is of particular
concern among pregnant women, infants and children, as
they are specifically vulnerable to the adverse health effects
of i-As, and in utero and early-life exposure, even low to
moderate levels of i-As, may have a marked effect
throughout the lifespan. Ion chromatography-mass spectrometry
detection (IC-ICP-MS) was used to analyse urinary
arsenic speciation, as an exposure biomarker, in
samples of 4-year-old children with relatively low-level
arsenic exposure living in different regions in Spain
including Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia. The
profile of arsenic metabolites in urine was also determined
in samples taken during pregnancy (1st trimester) and in
the children from Valencia of 7 years old. The median of
the main arsenic species found in the 4-year-old children
was 9.71 lg/l (arsenobetaine—AsB), 3.97 lg/l (dimethylarsinic
acid—DMA), 0.44 lg/l (monomethylarsonic
acid—MMA) and 0.35 lg/l (i-As). Statistically significant
differences were found in urinary AsB, MMA and i-As
according to the study regions in the 4-year-old, and also in
DMA among pregnant women and their children. Spearman’s
correlation coefficient among urinary arsenic
metabolites was calculated, and, in general, a strong
methylation capacity to methylate i-As to MMA was
observed. |