The Association of Urine and Blood Arsenic Metabolites with Body Mass Index in the Bangladesh Fact Study

Ingested arsenic (As) undergoes methylation generating mono-methyl (MMA) and dimethyl (DMA) arsenicals; this facilitates urinary As (uAs) elimination and may reduce As toxicity. Higher MMA% in urine has been associated with higher risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Decreased MMA%, however, has been associated with increased risk of diabetes-related outcomes in populations from the US and Mexico. Our objective was to estimate the association between uAs and blood As (bAs) metabolites with BMI in adults from Bangladesh. Of the 610 participants in the Folic Acid and Creatine Trial (FACT) study, 528 participants (275 men and 253 women) had complete baseline data on BMI, bAs, uAs, plasma folate, cigarette use, and other factors of interest. Our preliminary results from the FACT…