Higher risk of hyperglycemia with greater susceptibility in females in chronic arsenic-exposed individuals in Bangladesh

Arsenic (As) toxicity and diabetes mellitus (DM) are emerging public health concerns worldwide. Although exposure to high levels of As has been associated with DM, whether there is also an association between low or moderate As exposure and DM remains unclear. We explored the dose-dependent association between As exposure levels and hyperglycemia, with special consideration of the impact of demographic variables, in 641 subjects from rural Bangladesh. The total study participants were divided into three groups depending on their levels of exposure to As in drinking water (low, moderate and high exposure groups). Prevalence of hyperglycemia, including impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and DM was significantly associated with the subjects’ drinking water arsenic levels. Almost all exposure metrics (As levels in…