A cross sectional study of anemia and iron deficiency as risk factors for arsenic-induced skin lesions in Bangladeshi women

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Molly L. Kile¹  David C. Christiani²  Joycelyn M. Faraj³  Alayne G. Ronnenberg³  Quazi Quamruzzaman⁴  Mahmudar Rahman⁴  Golam Mostofa⁴  Sakila Afroz⁴ 

[1] College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, 15 Milam Hall, 97331, Corvallis, OR, USA;Department of Environmental Health, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 100 Holdsworth Way, 01003, Amherst, MA, USA;Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, 190/1 Baro Moghbazar, Wireless Railgate, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

关键词: Arsenic;    Skin lesions;    Anemia;    Ferritin;    Inflammation;    C-reactive protein;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-2824-4

 received in 2015-09-09, accepted in 2016-02-03,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn the Ganges Delta, chronic arsenic poisoning is a health concern affecting millions of people who rely on groundwater as their potable water source. The prevalence of anemia is also high in this region, particularly among women. Moreover, arsenic is known to affect heme synthesis and erythrocytes and the risk of arsenic-induced skin lesions appears to differ by sex.MethodsWe conducted a case-control study in 147 arsenic-exposed Bangladeshi women to assess the association between anemia and arsenic-induced skin lesions.ResultsWe observed that the odds of arsenic-related skin lesions were approximately three times higher among women who were anemic (hemoglobin < 120 g/L) compared to women with normal hemoglobin levels [Odds Ratio (OR) = 3.32, 95 % Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.29, 8.52] after adjusting for arsenic levels in drinking water and other covariates. Furthermore, 75 % of the women with anemia had adequate iron stores (serum ferritin ≥12 μg/L), suggesting that the majority of anemia detected in this population was unrelated to iron depletion.ConclusionsConsidering the magnitude of arsenic exposure and prevalence of anemia in Bangladeshi women, additional research is warranted that identifies the causes of anemia so that effective interventions can be implemented while arsenic remediation efforts continue.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Kile et al. 2016