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. 2020 May:246:125790.
doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125790. Epub 2019 Dec 30.

Association between chronic arsenic exposure and the characteristic features of asthma

Abu Eabrahim Siddique  1 , Mizanur Rahman  1 , Md Imam Hossain  2 , Yeasir Karim  1 , M M Hasibuzzaman  1 , Sheta Biswas  1 , Md Shofikul Islam  3 , Atiqur Rahman  1 , Faruk Hossen  1 , Victor Mondal  1 , Hasan Ul Banna  1 , Nazmul Huda  4 , Mostaque Hossain  5 , Papia Sultana  6 , Farjana Nikkon  1 , Zahangir Alam Saud  1 , Azizul Haque  7 , Keiko Nohara  8 , Lian Xin  9 , Seiichiro Himeno  9 , Khaled Hossain  10
Affiliations

Association between chronic arsenic exposure and the characteristic features of asthma

Abu Eabrahim Siddique et al. Chemosphere. 2020 May.

Abstract

Widespread contamination of arsenic (As) has become a global public health concern. Exposure to As causes respiratory complications. Asthma, a major respiratory complication, is increasing worldwide. However, the effect of chronic As exposure on the risk of asthma remains to be clarified. This study aims to examine the associations between As exposure (water, hair and nail As) and the risk of asthma among 842 individuals exposed to a wide range of As concentrations through drinking water in Bangladesh. Subjects' As exposure levels were measured with ICP-MS. Lung function was examined by a handheld spirometer. Characteristic features of asthma were evaluated by bronchodilator-mediated reversibility in airway obstruction and asthma-like symptoms through a structured questionnaire. Total serum immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels were measured by immunoassay. As exposure metrics showed inverse associations with lung function measures (FEV1, FEV6, and FEV1/FEV6 ratio) and positive associations with the risks of airway obstruction (AO), reversible airway obstruction (RAO), and asthma-like symptoms. The majority of AO patients (70 of 97) were RAO with one or more characteristic symptoms of asthma. Intriguingly, subjects' As exposure levels showed positive associations with total sIgE levels. Total sIgE in RAO patients was significantly (p < 0.001) higher than that in the control group. Thus the results revealed that chronic As exposure was associated with the risk of the characteristic features of asthma. Additionally the association between As exposure and subjects' total sIgE levels and an elevated level of total sIgE in RAO group suggested that As exposure-related asthma might be allergic in nature.

Keywords: Arsenic; Asthma; Asthma-like symptoms; Reversible airway obstruction; Serum immunoglobulin E.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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