Arsenic Exposure From Drinking Water, Arsenic Methylation Capacity, and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Bangladesh

We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the interrelationships between past arsenic exposure, biomarkers specific for susceptibility to arsenic exposure, and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in 959 subjects from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh. We measured cIMT levels on average 7.2 years after baseline during 2010-2011. Arsenic exposure was measured in well water at baseline and in urine samples collected at baseline and during follow-up. Every 1-standard-deviation increase in urinary arsenic (357.9 µg/g creatinine) and well-water arsenic (102.0 µg/L) concentration was related to a 11.7-µm (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8, 21.6) and 5.1-µm (95% CI: -0.2, 10.3) increase in cIMT, respectively. For every 10% increase in monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) percentage, there was an increase of 12.1…