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HEALTH EFFECTS OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC VIA DRINKING WATER IN INNER MONGOLIA: VI. DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS.
Citation:
Kwok, R K., J. L. Mumford, P Mendola, Y. Xia, L. He, AND Z. Liu. HEALTH EFFECTS OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC VIA DRINKING WATER IN INNER MONGOLIA: VI. DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS. Presented at Society for Environmental Geochemistry & Health (SEGH), San Diego, CA, July 14-19, 2002.
Description:
HEALTH EFFECTS OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC VIA DRINKING WATER IN INNER MONGOLIA:
VI. DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS
Richard K. Kwok, M.S.P.H., Judy L. Mumford, Ph.D., Pauline Mendola, Ph.D. Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch, NHEERL, US Environmental Protection Agency; Yajuan Xia, Ph.D., He Ling Ling, B.S., Zhiyi Liu, B.S. Inner Mongolia Center for Endemic Disease Control and Research
Despite the large number of people exposed to drinking water arsenic (DWA) throughout their life and the large body of As literature, there are very few studies that present data on the reproductive and developmental effects of DWA in humans. Most of the studies that have looked at exposure to As and reproductive effects have investigated populations that lived near smelters and pesticide plants and were exposed to multiple agents, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, thereby making causal inferences to As difficult. With collaborative assistance from the researchers at the Inner Mongolia Center for Endemic Disease Control and Research, researchers at the US Environmental Protection Agency have been collecting health data from the prenatal care and birth outcome records of pregnant women to determine any potential human reproductive effects of DWA. This developmental effects database consists of 27,000 pregnant women in the Ba Men region of Inner Mongolia, China, who had a pregnancy outcome between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 1999. From this database, a variety of prenatal care information is available from birth outcome data, such as birth weight and gestational age information to maternal data such as blood pressure and hypertension information. Linking this developmental effects database to the 14,866 well-water survey database will provide researchers with a valuable tool for identifying potential risks associated with exposure to drinking water arsenic and developmental effects. Overall, this study can provide new information concerning potential risks associated with exposure to DWA during pregnancy.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Judy Mumford, Ph.D., Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch, Human Studies Division, U.S. EPA, NHEERL, MD-58C
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA. e-mail: Mumford.Judy@epa.gov
DISCLAIMER: This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.