Correlation of arsenic level in drinking water and hair of male respondents of district Sheikhupura.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the correlation between arsenic concentration in drinking water and biological samples of young male respondents. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted at Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan, from March 2013 to February 2015, and comprised biological samples i.e. hair of young males aged 15-25 years from Sheikhupura district of the Punjab province. The study questionnaire was designed to assess the general health status of the subjects as well. Drinking water samples were collected from the houses of those who volunteered to fill up the questionnaire and gave hair samples for the study. Acid digestion method was used to pre-treat the water and hair samples for the analysis of arsenic content. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer method was used to measure arsenic concentration. SPSS 13 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: There were 100 subjects and as many water samples. Overall, 46(46%) respondents had a range of health problems, including acne, skin lesions, allergies and respiratory problems. The average arsenic concentration was higher in water samples of tehsil Sheikhupura (67.11±3.8μg/L) and Sharaqpur (61.65± 3.3μg/L) than Muridke (41.7±1.5 μg/L), Ferozwala (40.79± 1.3 μg/L) and Safdarabad (29.7± 0.5 μg/L) (p< 0.05). Positive correlation was established between arsenic in drinking water and hair samples with respect to area and age (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of arsenic in drinking water was found to be likely affecting general metabolism and its accumulation in biological tissues..