A cohort study on cancer in areas among residents chronically exposed to arsenic
- National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan)
Many clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that chronic arsenic exposure increases the risk of skin cancer and lung cancer. However, laboratory experiments still fail to produce cancer in animals exposed to arsenic, which impedes the risk assessment of the carcinogenesis of arsenic. Alternatively, data for an adequate dose-response assessment on cancer may be obtained through a retrospective cohort study on cancer mortality in areas where residents are chronically exposed to cancer. In a limited area on the southwest coast of Taiwan, where residents consumed water from an artesian well with a high content of arsenic for more than 45 y, a high incidence of deaths from cancer was observed recently. This area may be ideal for a long-term environmental epidemiologic study because the defined exposed population can be traced through a household registration system, which has been maintained for over 70 y. We conducted a pilot study to trace inhabitants of three fishing villages in the area. Only 150 (3.3%) out of a population of 4,542 who were registered in household records in 1946 were lost. Among the 2,015 death certificates collected, 455 (22.6%) deaths were from cancer. Urothelial cancer has the highest SMR (102 observed vs. 2.3 expected, SMR = 43.8), followed by lung cancer (105 vs 8.9, SMR = 11.8) and liver cancer (72 vs. 18.4, SMR = 3.9). Further study on birth cohorts revealed that residents who were born in 1911-1920, when artesian well water displaced surface water, had the highest SMR of urothelial cancer, which suggests a high risk associated with arsenic exposure in childhood.
- OSTI ID:
- 5544955
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-890937--
- Journal Information:
- Archives of Environmental Health; (USA), Journal Name: Archives of Environmental Health; (USA) Vol. 45:5; ISSN 0003-9896; ISSN AEHLA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
ARSENIC
ASIA
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
DISEASES
ELEMENTS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HOUSEHOLDS
ISLANDS
MAMMALS
MAN
NEOPLASMS
PRIMATES
SEMIMETALS
TAIWAN
VERTEBRATES