Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;21(5):745-57.
doi: 10.1007/s10552-010-9503-z. Epub 2010 Jan 19.

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

Jaymie R Meliker  1 , Melissa J Slotnick, Gillian A AvRuskin, David Schottenfeld, Geoffrey M Jacquez, Mark L Wilson, Pierre Goovaerts, Alfred Franzblau, Jerome O Nriagu
Affiliations

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

Jaymie R Meliker et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2010 May.

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 microg/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 microg/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 microg/L when compared with a reference group exposed to <1 microg/L (odds ratio (OR) = 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65, 1.86). Among ever-smokers, risks from arsenic exposure >10 microg/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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Arsenic concentrations in drinking water at current residence of cases and controls in eleven county study area of Southeastern Michigan, Enrolled 2002–2006
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer, among those who consume >1 L/day of water from home, by age of exposure; Southeastern Michigan, Enrolled 2002–2006. Adjusted for cigarette smoking history, education, history of employment in high-risk occupation, family history of bladder cancer, age, race, and sex. Exposure >10 µg/L between ages 45 and 52 significantly associated with bladder cancer
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Research Council. Arsenic in Drinking Water: 2001 Update. Washington: National Academy of Sciences Press; 2001.
    1. Smedley PL, Kinniburgh DG. A review of the source, behavior and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Appl Geochem. 2002;17:517–568.
    1. Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin. 2005;55:74–108. - PubMed
    1. Silverman DT, Devesa SS, Moore LE, Rothman N. Bladder Cancer. In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni J, editors. Cancer epidemiology and prevention. 3rd edn. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006. pp. 1101–1127.
    1. International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans: some drinking-water disinfectants and contaminants, including arsenic. vol 84. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2002. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources