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. 2017 Jul:156:74-79.
doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.03.018. Epub 2017 May 12.

Low-level inorganic arsenic exposure and neuropsychological functioning in American Indian elders

Clint R Carroll  1 , Carolyn Noonan  2 , Eva M Garroutte  3 , Ana Navas-Acien  4 , Steven P Verney  5 , Dedra Buchwald  2
Affiliations

Low-level inorganic arsenic exposure and neuropsychological functioning in American Indian elders

Clint R Carroll et al. Environ Res. 2017 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Inorganic arsenic at high and prolonged doses is highly neurotoxic. Few studies have evaluated whether long-term, low-level arsenic exposure is associated with neuropsychological functioning in adults.

Objectives: To investigate the association between long-term, low-level inorganic arsenic exposure and neuropsychological functioning among American Indians aged 64-95.

Methods: We assessed 928 participants in the Strong Heart Study by using data on arsenic species in urine samples collected at baseline (1989-1991) and results of standardized tests of global cognition, executive functioning, verbal learning and memory, fine motor functioning, and speed of mental processing administered during comprehensive follow-up evaluations in 2009-2013. We calculated the difference in neuropsychological functioning for a 10% increase in urinary arsenic with adjustment for sex, age, education, and study site.

Results: The sum of inorganic and methylated arsenic species (∑As) in urine was associated with limited fine motor functioning and processing speed. A 10% increase in ∑As was associated with a .10 (95% CI -.20, -.01) decrease on the Finger Tapping Test for the dominant hand and a .13 decrease (95% CI -.21, -.04) for the non-dominant hand. Similarly, a 10% increase in ∑As was associated with a .15 (95% CI -.29, .00) decrease on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Coding Subtest. ∑As was not associated with other neuropsychological functions.

Conclusions: Findings indicate an adverse association between increased urinary arsenic fine motor functioning and processing speed, but not with other neuropsychological functioning, among elderly American Indians.

Keywords: American Indians; Arsenic; Low-level exposure; Neuropsychological functioning; Strong Heart Study.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations

The authors have obtained all required tribal, Institutional Review Board, and human subjects approvals. The authors declare that the work described in this article has been carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans, and meets the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. The authors further declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Figures

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Figure 1
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