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Lifetime exposure to arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer: a population-based case–control study in Michigan, USA

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Abstract

Objective

Arsenic in drinking water has been linked with the risk of urinary bladder cancer, but the dose–response relationships for arsenic exposures below 100 μg/L remain equivocal. We conducted a population-based case–control study in southeastern Michigan, USA, where approximately 230,000 people were exposed to arsenic concentrations between 10 and 100 μg/L.

Methods

This study included 411 bladder cancer cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2004, and 566 controls recruited during the same period. Individual lifetime exposure profiles were reconstructed, and residential water source histories, water consumption practices, and water arsenic measurements or modeled estimates were determined at all residences. Arsenic exposure was estimated for 99% of participants’ person-years.

Results

Overall, an increase in bladder cancer risk was not found for time-weighted average lifetime arsenic exposure >10 μg/L when compared with a reference group exposed to <1 μg/L (odds ratio (OR) = 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65, 1.86). Among ever-smokers, risks from arsenic exposure >10 μg/L were similarly not elevated when compared to the reference group (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.50, 1.78).

Conclusions

We did not find persuasive evidence of an association between low-level arsenic exposure and bladder cancer. Selecting the appropriate exposure metric needs to be thoughtfully considered when investigating risk from low-level arsenic exposure.

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Acknowledgments

We extend deep appreciation to study participants for taking part in this research. We also thank Joe Lovato, Sheridan Haack, Stacey Fedewa, Angela Hungerink, Roni Kobrosly, Zorimar Rivera-Núñez, Aaron Linder, Nicholas Mank, Caitlyn Meservey, Erin Zazzera, and Taylor Builee for valuable assistance with different aspects of this project. This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute, Grant R01 CA96002-10. The perspectives are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the funding agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Public Health, Department of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center, HSC L3, Rm 071, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-8338, USA

    Jaymie R. Meliker

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Melissa J. Slotnick, Geoffrey M. Jacquez, Alfred Franzblau & Jerome O. Nriagu

  3. BioMedware, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Gillian A. AvRuskin, Geoffrey M. Jacquez & Pierre Goovaerts

  4. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    David Schottenfeld & Mark L. Wilson

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  1. Jaymie R. Meliker
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  2. Melissa J. Slotnick
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  3. Gillian A. AvRuskin
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  4. David Schottenfeld
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  5. Geoffrey M. Jacquez
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  7. Pierre Goovaerts
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  8. Alfred Franzblau
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  9. Jerome O. Nriagu
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Correspondence to Jaymie R. Meliker.

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Meliker, J.R., Slotnick, M.J., AvRuskin, G.A. et al. Lifetime exposure to arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer: a population-based case–control study in Michigan, USA. Cancer Causes Control 21, 745–757 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9503-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9503-z

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