Maternal arsenic exposure and birth outcomes: A comprehensive review of the epidemiologic literature focused on drinking water

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a human toxicant to which populations may be exposed through consumption of geogenically contaminated groundwater. A growing body of experimental literature corroborates the reproductive toxicity of iAs; however, the results of human studies are inconsistent. Therefore, we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of hygiene and environmental health 2014-09, Vol.217 (7), p.709-719
Main Authors: Bloom, Michael S., Surdu, Simona, Neamtiu, Iulia A., Gurzau, Eugen S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air. Soil. Water. Waste. Feeding
Arsenic (As)
Arsenic - toxicity
Biological and medical sciences
Birth size
Birth Weight
Drinking water
Drinking Water - chemistry
Environment. Living conditions
Epidemiology
Female
General aspects
Gestation
Gestational Age
Humans
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Maternal Exposure - adverse effects
Medical sciences
Pregnancy
Premature Birth - epidemiology
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Risk Assessment
Toxicology
Water Pollutants, Chemical
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Summary:Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a human toxicant to which populations may be exposed through consumption of geogenically contaminated groundwater. A growing body of experimental literature corroborates the reproductive toxicity of iAs; however, the results of human studies are inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive review of epidemiologic studies focused on drinking water iAs exposure and birth outcomes to assess the evidence for causality and to make recommendations for future study. We reviewed 18 English language papers assessing birth weight, gestational age, and birth size. Thirteen of the studies were conducted among populations with frequent exposure to high-level groundwater iAs contamination (>10μg/L) and five studies were conducted in areas without recognized contamination. Most studies comprised small samples and used cross-sectional designs, often with ecologic exposure assessment strategies, although several large prospective investigations and studies with individual-level measurements were also reported. We conclude that: (1) the epidemiologic evidence for an increased risk of low birth weight (
ISSN:1438-4639
1618-131X
DOI:10.1016/j.ijheh.2014.03.004