Association of respiratory complications and elevated serum immunoglobulins with drinking water arsenic toxicity in human

Abstract

We assessed the relationship between chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water with respiratory complications and humoral immune response by measuring serum immunoglobulin profiles in the affected subjects (arsenicosis patients) living in the arsenic endemic rural villages of Bangladesh. The duration of exposure was determined through detailed history of the patients (n=125) and the levels of arsenic in the drinking water and urine samples were determined. The mean duration of exposure in the patients was 7.4+/-5.3 y, and the levels of arsenic in the drinking water and urine samples were 216+/-211 and 223+/-302 micro g/L, respectively, compared to 11+/-20 and 29+/-19 microg/L, respectively, in the unexposed subjects. There was high prevalence of respiratory complications like breathing problems including chest sound, asthma, bronchitis and cough associated with drinking water arsenic toxicity. Arsenicosis patients had significantly elevated levels of IgG (P<0.001) and IgE (P<0.001) while the levels of IgA were also significantly higher (P<0.005) but IgM were similar to that of the control subjects. Analysis of the clinical symptoms based on skin manifestations showed the levels of both IgG and IgE were significantly elevated during the initial stages while IgE were further elevated with the duration of arsenic exposure. Arsenicosis patients with respiratory complications had mean serum IgE levels of 706+/-211 IU/mL compared to 542+/-241 IU/mL in patients without apparent involvement with the respiratory system (P<0.01). The eosinophil counts in the patients did not differ significantly from the unexposed subjects indicating that elevated levels of serum IgE might not be due to allergic diseases, rather it could be due to direct effects of arsenic. We found significant linear relationships between the levels of serum IgE and inorganic phosphorus (P<0.05), and serum IgA levels with urinary excretion of arsenic (P<0.001). These observations suggested that arsenic toxicity caused respiratory complications, induced changes in the humoral as well as mucosal immune responses.

Chronic exposure of arsenic via drinking water and its adverse health impacts on humans

“…A significant reduction in the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-induced proliferative response of lymphocytes from individuals exposed to 390 lg/l of As present in drinking water has been reported (Ostrosky-Wegman et al 1991). Recently Islam et al (2007) investigated the effect of exposure to As via drinking water with a mean As concentration of 216 lg/l and humoral immune response by measuring serum immunoglobulin profiles in Asaffected subjects (n = 125) living in the As-endemic villages of Bangladesh. Mean duration of exposure in the patients was 7.4 years.…”

“…Ingestion of inorganic As for a prolonged period causes respiratory problems, including cough, chest sound, bronchitis, and shortness of breath (Guha Mazumder et al 2000;Milton et al 2001Milton et al , 2003Islam et al 2007).…”

“…Recently Islam et al (2007) studied the link between As exposure via drinking water and respiratory complications. They found high prevalence of respiratory complications such as breathing problems including chest sound, asthma, bronchitis, and cough in arsenicosis patients (125 subjects) of Bangladesh exposed to As-contaminated water (mean concentration of 216 lg/l) for more than 7 years.…”

Accumulation of arsenic in plants from arsenic contaminated irrigation water

“…Kısa dönemde arseniğe maruz kalan insanlarda görülen sağlık problemleri: mide ağrısı, çiğnemede zorlanma, kusma, kan basıncında düşme, deri lezyonları, epilepsi (nöbet geçirme), pigmentasyon (cilt renginde koyulaşma), midebağırsak problemleridir. Ayrıca arsenik ile kirlenmiş suların içme suyu kaynağı olarak kullanılması durumunda, kronik maruziyet sonucu başlıca dermatolojik özelliklere sahip hastalıklar, bunun dışında mide, karaciğer, solunum, nörolojik, hematolojik, kardiyovasküler, sinir sistemi gibi organlar üzerinde olumsuz sağlık etkileri gösterebilmektedir [36], [39], [44]- [47].…”

Arsenic in drinking water wells on the Bolivian high plain: Field monitoring and effect of salinity on removal efficiency of iron-oxides-containing filters

“…Ratnaike [7] and others [8,9] state that ingestion of low As concentrations over a long-term period can result in multisystem diseases and different types of cancer, of which skin and bladder cancer are most common. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1993 established a provisional guideline value of 10 µg L -1 as upper limit for drinking water.…”