TY - JOUR
T1 - Arsenic in drinking-water and risk for cancer in Denmark
AU - Baastrup, Rikke
AU - Sørensen, Mette
AU - Balstrøm, Thomas
AU - Frederiksen, Kirsten
AU - Larsen, Carsten Langtofte
AU - Tjønneland, Anne
AU - Overvad, Kim
AU - Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole
N1 - Funding Information:
The present work was funded by the Marie Curie Fellowship (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF) with Grant Agreement number 329500 funded by the European Commission entitled as ?Non Flat Impingement ? Droplet Impingement on Non-flat Surfaces?.
PY - 2008/2
Y1 - 2008/2
N2 - Background: Arsenic is a well-known carcinogen, which is often found in drinking-water. Epidemiologic studies have shown increased cancer risks among individuals exposed to high concentrations of arsenic in drinking-water, whereas studies of the carcinogenic effect of low doses have had inconsistent results. Objective: Our aim was to determine if exposure to low levels of arsenic in drinking-water in Denmark is associated with an increased risk for cancer. Methods: The study was based on a prospective Danish cohort of 57,053 persons in the Copenhagen and Aarhus areas. Cancer cases were identified in the Danish Cancer Registry, and the Danish civil registration system was used to trace and geocode residential addresses of the cohort members. We used a geographic information system to link addresses with water supply areas, then estimated individual exposure to arsenic using residential addresses back to 1970. Average exposure for the cohort ranged between 0.05 and 25.3 μg/L (mean = 1.2 μg/L). Cox's regression models were used to analyze possible relationships between arsenic and cancer. Results: We found no significant association between exposure to arsenic and risk for cancers of the lung, bladder, liver, kidney, prostate, or colorectum, or melanoma skin cancer; however. the risk for non-melanoma skin cancer decreased with increasing exposure (incidence rate ratio = 0.88/μg/L average exposure; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.94). Results adjusted for enrollment area showed no association with non-melanoma skin cancer. Conclusions: The results indicate that exposure to low doses of arsenic might be associated with a reduced risk for skin cancer.
AB - Background: Arsenic is a well-known carcinogen, which is often found in drinking-water. Epidemiologic studies have shown increased cancer risks among individuals exposed to high concentrations of arsenic in drinking-water, whereas studies of the carcinogenic effect of low doses have had inconsistent results. Objective: Our aim was to determine if exposure to low levels of arsenic in drinking-water in Denmark is associated with an increased risk for cancer. Methods: The study was based on a prospective Danish cohort of 57,053 persons in the Copenhagen and Aarhus areas. Cancer cases were identified in the Danish Cancer Registry, and the Danish civil registration system was used to trace and geocode residential addresses of the cohort members. We used a geographic information system to link addresses with water supply areas, then estimated individual exposure to arsenic using residential addresses back to 1970. Average exposure for the cohort ranged between 0.05 and 25.3 μg/L (mean = 1.2 μg/L). Cox's regression models were used to analyze possible relationships between arsenic and cancer. Results: We found no significant association between exposure to arsenic and risk for cancers of the lung, bladder, liver, kidney, prostate, or colorectum, or melanoma skin cancer; however. the risk for non-melanoma skin cancer decreased with increasing exposure (incidence rate ratio = 0.88/μg/L average exposure; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.94). Results adjusted for enrollment area showed no association with non-melanoma skin cancer. Conclusions: The results indicate that exposure to low doses of arsenic might be associated with a reduced risk for skin cancer.
KW - Arsenic
KW - Cancer
KW - Cohort study
KW - Drinking-water
KW - Geographic information system
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=40549094299&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1289/ehp.10623
DO - 10.1289/ehp.10623
M3 - Article
SN - 0091-6765
VL - 116
SP - 231
EP - 237
JO - Environmental Health Perspectives
JF - Environmental Health Perspectives
IS - 2
ER -