Dietary arsenic exposure with low level of arsenic in drinking water and biomarker: A study in West Bengal

The authors investigated association of arsenic intake through water and diet and arsenic level in urine in people living in arsenic endemic region in West Bengal supplied with arsenic-safe water (<50 μg L−1). Out of 94 (Group-1A) study participants using water with arsenic level <50 μg L−1, 72 participants (Group-1B) were taking water with arsenic level <10 μg L−1. Multiple regressions analysis conducted on the Group-1A participants showed that daily arsenic dose from water and diet were found to be significantly positively associated with urinary arsenic level. However, daily arsenic dose from diet was found to be significantly positively associated with urinary arsenic level in Group-1B participants only, but no significant association was found with arsenic dose from water in this group. In a separate analysis, out of 68 participants with arsenic exposure through diet only, urinary arsenic concentration was found to correlate positively (r = 0.573) with dietary arsenic in 45 participants with skin les...