Objective To assess whether nutritional deficiency increases susceptibility to arsenic-related health effects. Design Assessment of nutrition was based on a 24 h recall method of all dietary constituents. Setting Epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted in an arsenic-endemic area of West Bengal with groundwater arsenic contamination. Subjects The study was composed of two groups - Group 1 (cases, n 108) exhibiting skin lesions and Group 2 (exposed controls, n 100) not exhibiting skin lesions - age- and sex-matched and having similar arsenic exposure through drinking water and arsenic levels in urine and hair. Results Both groups belonged to low socio-economic strata (Group 1 significantly poorer, P &lt; 0·01) and had low BMI (prevalence of BMI &lt; 18·5 kg/m2: in 38 % in Group 1 and 27 % in Group 2). Energy intake was below the Recommended Daily Allowance (set by the Indian Council of Medical Research) in males and females in both groups. Increased risk of arsenical skin lesions was found for those in the lowest quintile of protein intake (v. highest quintile: OR = 4·60, 95 % CI 1·36, 15·50 in males; OR = 5·62, 95 % CI 1·19, 34·57 in females). Significantly lower intakes of energy, protein, thiamin, niacin, Mg, Zn and choline were observed in both males and females of Group 1 compared with Group 2. Significantly lower intakes of carbohydrate, riboflavin, niacin and Cu were also observed in female cases with skin lesions compared with non-cases. Conclusions Deficiencies of Zn, Mg and Cu, in addition to protein, B vitamins and choline, are found to be associated with arsenical skin lesions in West Bengal. Copyright © The Authors 2012.

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K K MAJUMDAR

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University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University or CU) is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.&nbsp;Within India it is recognized as a &quot;Five-Star University&quot; and accredited &quot;A&quot; Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

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The University of Calcutta has secured the Fifth position among the Universities of India in the prestigious &quot;Indian University Ranking 2019&quot; list, released by the NIRF of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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It was established on 24 January 1857, and was one of the first institutions in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and Western-style university. Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state, heads of government, social reformers, prominent artists, only academy award winner and Dirac medal winner in India, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates as of 2019 which is highest in South Asia.

University Of Calcutta

Nutritional deficiency and arsenical manifestations: a perspective study in an arsenic-endemic region of West Bengal, India.

Public Health Nutrition

We assessed the association between arsenic intake through water and diet, and arsenic levels in first morning-void urine under variable conditions of water contamination. This was done in a 2-year consecutive study in an endemic population. Exposure of arsenic through water and diet was assessed for participants using arsenic-contaminated water (≥50 μg L-1) in a first year (group I) and for participants using water lower in arsenic (&lt;50 μg L-1) in the next year (group II). Participants with and without arsenical skin lesions were considered in the statistical analysis. Median dose of arsenic intake through drinking water in groups I and II males was 7.44 and 0.85 μg kg body wt.-1 day-1 (p &lt;0.0001). In females, it was 5.3 and 0.63 μg kg body wt.-1 day-1 (p &lt;0.0001) for groups I and II, respectively. Arsenic dose through diet was 3.3 and 2.6 μg kg body wt.-1 day-1 (p = 0.088) in males and 2.6 and 1.9 μg kg body wt.-1 day-1 (p = 0.0081) in females. Median arsenic levels in urine of groups I and II males were 124 and 61 μg L-1 (p = 0.052) and in females 130 and 52 μg L-1 (p = 0.0001), respectively. When arsenic levels in the water were reduced to below 50 μg L-1 (Indian permissible limit), total arsenic intake and arsenic intake through the water significantly decreased, but arsenic uptake through the diet was found to be not significantly affected. Moreover, it was found that drinking water mainly contributed to variations in urine arsenic concentrations. However, differences between male and female participants also indicate that not only arsenic uptake, but also many physiological factors affect arsenic behavior in the body and its excretion. As total median arsenic exposure still often exceeded 3.0 μg kg body wt.-1 day-1 (the permissible lower limit established by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives) after installation of the drinking water filters, it can be concluded that supplying the filtered water only may not be sufficient to minimize arsenic availability for an already endemic population. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Dietary arsenic consumption and urine arsenic in an endemic population: Response to improvement of drinking water quality in a 2-year consecutive study

Exposure to arsenic in arsenic endemic areas is most remarkable environmental health challenges. Although effects of arsenic contamination are well established, reports are unavailable on probable seasonal variation due to changes of food habit depending on winter and summer seasons, especially for endemic regions of Nadia district, West Bengal. Complete 24-h diets, drinking-cooking water, first morning voided urine samples, and diet history were analyzed on 25 volunteers in arsenic endemic Chakdah block of Nadia district, once in summer followed by once in winter from the same participants. Results depicted no seasonal variation of body weight and body mass index. Arsenic concentration of source drinking and cooking water decreased (p = 0.04) from 26 μg L-1 in summer to 6 μg L-1 in winter season. We recorded a seasonal decrease of water intake in male (3.8 and 2.5 L day -1) and female (2.6 and 1.2 L day-1) participants from summer to winter. Arsenic intake through drinking water decreased (p = 0.04) in winter (29 μg day-1) than in summer (100 μg day-1), and urinary arsenic concentration decreased (p = 0.018) in winter (41 μg L-1) than in summer (69 μg L-1). Dietary arsenic intake remained unchanged (p = 0.24) over the seasons. Hence, we can infer that human health risk assessment from arsenic needs an insight over temporal scale. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Seasonal perspective of dietary arsenic consumption and urine arsenic in an endemic population

Arsenic is a potent toxin, carcinogen and modulator of antioxidant defense system. In this study, male rats of Wistar strain, maintained on either 18% or 6% protein (casein) diet, received an acute i.p. exposure to sodium arsenite (As3+) at its LD50 dose (15.86 mg/kg body weight). One hour after the arsenic exposure, glutathione (GSH) concentration was significantly depleted and lipid peroxidation was increased. A relationship between any two of tissue arsenic concentrations, GSH levels and lipid peroxidation values was observed only for liver when the proportional changes of respective parameters in either of the dietary groups of animals were compared. This suggests that, in liver, arsenic metabolism appears dependant upon the GSH concentration. Acute arsenic exposure significantly increased the glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in liver of both dietary groups and in kidney of only the 18% protein-fed group of animals. The glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity significantly decreased in liver of the 18% protein-fed animals while GST increased in kidney of both the 18% and the 6% protein-fed groups. No significant change in glutathione reductase (GR) or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity was observed. In the present investigation, liver as a whole seems to be more affected in terms of GSH level and GST activity. The mode of responses of GPx and GR activities as well as the unaltered G6PDH activity might result in arsenic-induced GSH depletion and increase in lipid peroxidation. The animals of the 6% protein-fed group, appeared to be affected less in terms of tissue arsenic concentration, lipid peroxidation, GSH level and GST activity.

Archives of Toxicology

Effects on levels of glutathione and some related enzymes in tissues after an acute arsenic exposure in rats and their relationship to dietary protein deficiency

The effect on antioxidant defense system of liver and kidney of sub-acute i.p. exposure to sodium arsenite (3.33 mg/kg b.w. per day) for 14 days was studied in male Wistar rats fed on an adequate (18%) or a low (6%) protein diet. Following arsenic treatment, liver showed significantly enhanced concentration of glutathione and increased activities of glutathione reductase and glutathione-S-transferase on either of the dietary protein levels. Liver glutathione peroxidase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities increased significantly on an adequate protein diet while glutathione peroxidase activity decreased significantly on a low-protein diet. Lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase activity of liver remained unaltered on either of the dietary protein levels. On the other hand, kidney of arsenic-treated rats receiving either of the dietary protein levels showed significantly increased lipid peroxidation and decreased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Kidney glutathione content and glutathione reductase activity remained unaltered while glutathione peroxidase activity increased and glutathione-S-transferase activity decreased significantly on a low-protein diet following exposure to arsenic. On an adequate protein diet glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in kidney, however, became significantly elevated following arsenic treatment. In Wistar rats, after 14 days of treatment with 3.33 mg As/kg b.w. i.p. the kidney seemed to be more sensitive to arsenic, and liver appears to be protected more by some of the antioxidant components, such as, glutathione, glutathione-S-transferase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. It appears that low-protein diet influences the response of some of the cellular protective components against arsenic insult but does not lead to unique findings. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.

Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology

Differential response of cellular antioxidant mechanism of liver and kidney to arsenic exposure and its relation to dietary protein deficiency

WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health

Health risks of climate change in the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region

Indian Journal of Community Medicine

Arsenic contamination of ground water and its health impact on population of district of Nadia, West Bengal, India

Environmental Science & Technology

Arsenic Burden from Cooked Rice in the Populations of Arsenic Affected and Nonaffected Areas and Kolkata City in West-Bengal, India

Nutritional deficiency and arsenical manifestations: A perspective study in an arsenic-endemic region of West Bengal, India

Journal	Public Health Nutrition
Publisher	CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
ISSN	1368-9800
Open Access	Yes