Inverse association between toenail arsenic and body mass index in a population of welders

Rachel Grashow; Jinming Zhang; Shona C Fang; Marc G Weisskopf; David C Christiani; Molly L Kile; Jennifer M Cavallari

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2014.03.010

Inverse association between toenail arsenic and body mass index in a population of welders

Environ Res. 2014 May:131:131-3. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.03.010. Epub 2014 Apr 9.

Authors

Rachel Grashow¹, Jinming Zhang², Shona C Fang³, Marc G Weisskopf⁴, David C Christiani⁴, Molly L Kile⁵, Jennifer M Cavallari⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: rgrashow@hsph.harvard.edu.
² Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
³ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; New England Research Institutes, Watertown, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Public Health, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA.

Abstract

Recent data show that arsenic may play a role in obesity-related diseases. However, urinary arsenic studies report an inverse association between arsenic level and body mass index (BMI). We explored whether toenail arsenic, a long-term exposure measure, was associated with BMI in 74 welders with known arsenic exposure. BMI showed significant inverse associations with toenail arsenic (p=0.01), which persisted in models adjusted for demographics, diet and work history. It is unclear whether low arsenic biomarker concentrations in high BMI subjects truly reflect lower exposures, or instead reflect internal or metabolic changes that alter arsenic metabolism and tissue deposition.

Keywords: Arsenic; BMI; Metals; Occupational health; Toenail; Welding fume.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
Arsenic / analysis*
Body Mass Index*
Humans
Male
Nails / chemistry
Occupational Exposure / analysis*
Welding*

Substances

Arsenic

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding