科研之友
微信
新浪微博
Facebook
分享链接
摘要
Incidence of chronic arsenicosis in the lower Gangetic plain has led to intensive research on arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater and potential health crisis associated with exposure to groundwater As. Arsenic toxicity of local inhabitants and their nutritional status were investigated in two As affected villages (Nonaghata and Doulatpur) of West Bengal, India. Population-based case study on randomly selected subjects was used to assess chronic As exposure through medical evaluation and individual health survey. Groundwater As concentrations were found as high as 870 mu g/L and 1752 mu g/L in Nonaghata and Doulatpur respectively at a depth 50-100 ft. In Nonaghata, 26.7% of people (among 385 surveyed) showed dermatological manifestation and As skin lesions were dominant in age group of 15-30 and 30-45 years old. In both the age groups, cases of melanosis were higher (22.5% and 31.5%) compared to keratosis (15.4% and 12.5%). In Doulatpur 27.4% of people (among 440 surveyed) was found with dermatological manifestations and As skin lesions were dominant in age group of 15-30 and 30-45 years old. Cases of melanosis are higher (27.2% and 31.4%) compared to keratosis (10.8% and 30.7%) in these two age groups. Assessment on calories intake (mainly carbohydrate and protein) by local inhabitants showed that 67.5% and 66.8% people of these two villages belongs to poor nutrition. Assessment of odds ratios (OR) suggested that the stronger associations were with low nutrition which may increase susceptibility to arsenical skin lesions. Thus it is a matter of concern that nutritional status may be an important factor causing prevalence of As toxicity among local inhabitants.
- 出版日期2013-11-15
