Arsenic contamination in groundwater and its effects on adolescent intelligence and social competence in Bangladesh with special reference to daily drinking/cooking water intake
Nahar MN, Inaoka T, Fujimura M, Watanabe C, Shimizu H, Tasmin S, Sultana N
Environmental health and preventive medicine · 20 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- University or hospital
- University of Tokyo
Based on 1 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2013-11-19 · Environ Health Prev Med · vol. 19 · issue 2 · pp. 151–158
- Publisher
- Springer Science+Business Media
- Cited
- 31 citations · more than 79% of similar papers · 1.3× the field average
- References
- 24 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Arsenic contamination and mitigation · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity · Fluoride Effects and Removal
- Keywords
- Environmental health, Toxicology, Cooking methods, Meal, Contaminated groundwater, Socioeconomic status, Urine, Food science, Confounding, Contamination, Medicine, Population, Chemistry, Biology, Ecology
- MeSH
- humans, arsenic, water pollutants, chemical, cross-sectional studies, social behavior, intelligence, environmental exposure, environmental monitoring, food contamination, drinking, social class, adolescent, bangladesh, female, male, groundwater, water wells, surveys and questionnaires
7 authors
From JP
- Mst. Nasrin Nahar · correspondingKagoshima University; Saga University
- Tsukasa InaokaSaga University
- Miho FujimuraSaga University
- Chiho WatanabeThe University of Tokyo
- Hana ShimizuThe University of Tokyo
- Sayra TasnimThe University of Tokyo
Abstract
Objective
The present study aims to investigate the relationship between arsenic (As) exposure and intelligence quotient (IQ) or social competence (SC) of Bangladeshi adolescents (aged 14 or 15 years) in Sonargaon thana.
Methods
Information about socioeconomic status (SES) was collected as confounding factors. To evaluate the relative contribution of As sources to total As intake, the As concentrations in urine and drinking/cooking water, and the amount of water added in cooking, were assessed on site using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).
Results
The results confirmed that As exposure was essential to lower adolescent IQ or SC because they were negatively associated with As exposure after controlling for SES (particularly household income). Except for cooking water, the amount of drinking water varied with season and appeared to be the major As source because the As concentration in water was generally correlated with the As concentration in urine, and they were related to lower IQ or SC (even after controlling for SES). The FFQ survey revealed that rice was consumed the most frequently (more than once daily), followed by daal (bean) soup and nonleafy vegetables, but fish, meat, and eggs were consumed approximately once a week. Water intake per meal from cooked rice was estimated to be 616 mL/person, followed by bean soup (258 mL/person) and cooked vegetables (82 mL/person).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that water used for cooking might be an important source of As, and the cooking process can affect the amount of As in cooked food.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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