Craig Steinmaus1, Felicia Castriota2, Catterina Ferreccio3, Allan H Smith4, Yan Yuan4, Jane Liaw4, Johanna Acevedo3, Liliana Pérez3, Rodrigo Meza5, Sergio Calcagno6, Ricardo Uauy7, Martyn T Smith8. 1. Arsenic Health Effects Research Program, School of Public Health, University of California, 50 University Hall, MC7360, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA; Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, USA. Electronic address: craigs@berkeley.edu. 2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, USA. 3. Departamento de Salud Pública, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. 4. Arsenic Health Effects Research Program, School of Public Health, University of California, 50 University Hall, MC7360, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA. 5. Hospital Regional de Calama, Calama, Chile. 6. Hospital Regional de Iquique, Iquique, Chile. 7. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, United Kingdom; Instituto de Nutrición y Technología de los Alimentos, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. 8. Environmental Health Sciences Division, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Elevated body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. Inflammation or oxidative stress induced by high BMI may explain some of these effects. Millions of people drink arsenic-contaminated water worldwide, and ingested arsenic has also been associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer. OBJECTIVES: To assess the unique situation of people living in northern Chile exposed to high arsenic concentrations in drinking water and investigate interactions between arsenic and BMI, and associations with lung and bladder cancer risks. METHODS: Information on self-reported body mass index (BMI) at various life stages, smoking, diet, and lifetime arsenic exposure was collected from 532 cancer cases and 634 population-based controls. RESULTS: In subjects with BMIs <90th percentile in early adulthood (27.7 and 28.6 kg/m(2) in males and females, respectively), odds ratios (OR) for lung and bladder cancer combined for arsenic concentrations of <100, 100-800 and >800 µg/L were 1.00, 1.64 (95% CI, 1.19-2.27), and 3.12 (2.30-4.22). In subjects with BMIs ≥90th percentile in early adulthood, the corresponding ORs were higher: 1.00, 1.84 (0.75-4.52), and 9.37 (2.88-30.53), respectively (synergy index=4.05, 95% CI, 1.27-12.88). Arsenic-related cancer ORs >20 were seen in those with elevated BMIs in both early adulthood and in later life. Adjustments for smoking, diet, and other factors had little impact. CONCLUSION: These findings provide novel preliminary evidence supporting the notion that environmentally-related cancer risks may be markedly increased in people with elevated BMIs, especially in those with an elevated BMI in early-life.
BACKGROUND: Elevated body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. Inflammation or oxidative stress induced by high BMI may explain some of these effects. Millions of people drink arsenic-contaminated water worldwide, and ingested arsenic has also been associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer. OBJECTIVES: To assess the unique situation of people living in northern Chile exposed to high arsenic concentrations in drinking water and investigate interactions between arsenic and BMI, and associations with lung and bladder cancer risks. METHODS: Information on self-reported body mass index (BMI) at various life stages, smoking, diet, and lifetime arsenic exposure was collected from 532 cancer cases and 634 population-based controls. RESULTS: In subjects with BMIs <90th percentile in early adulthood (27.7 and 28.6 kg/m(2) in males and females, respectively), odds ratios (OR) for lung and bladder cancer combined for arsenic concentrations of <100, 100-800 and >800 µg/L were 1.00, 1.64 (95% CI, 1.19-2.27), and 3.12 (2.30-4.22). In subjects with BMIs ≥90th percentile in early adulthood, the corresponding ORs were higher: 1.00, 1.84 (0.75-4.52), and 9.37 (2.88-30.53), respectively (synergy index=4.05, 95% CI, 1.27-12.88). Arsenic-related cancer ORs >20 were seen in those with elevated BMIs in both early adulthood and in later life. Adjustments for smoking, diet, and other factors had little impact. CONCLUSION: These findings provide novel preliminary evidence supporting the notion that environmentally-related cancer risks may be markedly increased in people with elevated BMIs, especially in those with an elevated BMI in early-life.
Authors: Rob C M van Kruijsdijk; Elsken van der Wall; Frank L J Visseren Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2009-09-15 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Amy Berrington de Gonzalez; Patricia Hartge; James R Cerhan; Alan J Flint; Lindsay Hannan; Robert J MacInnis; Steven C Moore; Geoffrey S Tobias; Hoda Anton-Culver; Laura Beane Freeman; W Lawrence Beeson; Sandra L Clipp; Dallas R English; Aaron R Folsom; D Michal Freedman; Graham Giles; Niclas Hakansson; Katherine D Henderson; Judith Hoffman-Bolton; Jane A Hoppin; Karen L Koenig; I-Min Lee; Martha S Linet; Yikyung Park; Gaia Pocobelli; Arthur Schatzkin; Howard D Sesso; Elisabete Weiderpass; Bradley J Willcox; Alicja Wolk; Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte; Walter C Willett; Michael J Thun Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2010-12-02 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Allan H Smith; Guillermo Marshall; Yan Yuan; Jane Liaw; Catterina Ferreccio; Craig Steinmaus Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2010-12-29 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: Catterina Ferreccio; Yan Yuan; Jacqueline Calle; Hugo Benítez; Roxana L Parra; Johanna Acevedo; Allan H Smith; Jane Liaw; Craig Steinmaus Journal: Epidemiology Date: 2013-11 Impact factor: 4.822
Authors: Anthony Nardone; Catterina Ferreccio; Johanna Acevedo; Wayne Enanoria; Alden Blair; Allan H Smith; John Balmes; Craig Steinmaus Journal: Environ Res Date: 2017-07-21 Impact factor: 6.498
Authors: Felicia Castriota; Johanna Acevedo; Catterina Ferreccio; Allan H Smith; Jane Liaw; Martyn T Smith; Craig Steinmaus Journal: Environ Res Date: 2018-07-27 Impact factor: 6.498
Authors: Cliona M McHale; Gwendolyn Osborne; Rachel Morello-Frosch; Andrew G Salmon; Martha S Sandy; Gina Solomon; Luoping Zhang; Martyn T Smith; Lauren Zeise Journal: Mutat Res Rev Mutat Res Date: 2017-11-24 Impact factor: 5.657
Authors: Edward E Hudgens; Zuzana Drobna; Bin He; X C Le; Miroslav Styblo; John Rogers; David J Thomas Journal: Environ Health Date: 2016-05-26 Impact factor: 5.984
Authors: Cynthia V Rider; Cliona M McHale; Thomas F Webster; Leroy Lowe; William H Goodson; Michele A La Merrill; Glenn Rice; Lauren Zeise; Luoping Zhang; Martyn T Smith Journal: Environ Health Perspect Date: 2021-03-30 Impact factor: 9.031