Increased Mortality Associated with Well-Water Arsenic Exposure in Inner Mongolia, China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Timothy J. Wade²  Yajuan Xia¹  Kegong Wu¹  Yanhong Li¹  Zhixiong Ning⁵  X Chris Le³  Xiufen Lu³  Yong Feng⁴  Xingzhou He⁶ 

[1] Inner Mongolia Center for Endemic Disease Control and Research, Huhhot, Inner Mongolia, China; E-mails:;US Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; E-mail:;University of Alberta, Department of Public Health Sciences, Edmonton, Canada; E-mails:;Hangjin Hou Centers for Disease Control, Hangjin Hou, Inner Mongolia, China; E-mail:;Ba Men Anti Epidemic Station, Bayingnormen, Inner Mongolia, China; E-mail:;Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine, Institute of Environmental Health &Engineering, Beijing, China; E-mail:

关键词: Arsenic;    drinking water;    China;    Inner Mongolia;    mortality;    heart disease;    cancer;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph6031107

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

We conducted a retrospective mortality study in an Inner Mongolian village exposed to well water contaminated by arsenic since the 1980s. Deaths occurring between January 1, 1997 and December 1, 2004 were classified according to underlying cause and water samples from household wells were tested for total arsenic. Heart disease mortality was associated with arsenic exposure, and the association strengthened with time exposed to the water source. Cancer mortality and all-cause mortality were associated with well-water arsenic exposure among those exposed 10–20 years. This is the first study to document increased arsenic-associated mortality in the Bayingnormen region of Inner Mongolia.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.