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A Link Between Arsenic and Diabetes?
Patients may be asking about reports of a potential link between arsenic exposure and type 2 diabetes risk — reports based on a preliminary communication in JAMA.
NHANES researchers assessed urine arsenic levels and diabetes status among nearly 800 U.S. adults with low-to-moderate arsenic exposure. After multivariable adjustment, they found that the prevalence of diabetes increased as the level of total urine arsenic increased. In particular, the odds ratio for diabetes was 3.6 among adults in the 80th versus the 20th percentile of urine arsenic.
The authors say the observed arsenic-diabetes association likely reflects exposure to inorganic arsenic in contaminated water and food, given that they controlled for consumption of seafood, the main source of organic arsenic. They call for additional research to prove causality.
(As a potential underlying mechanism, the authors note that high arsenic exposure has raised glucose and insulin levels in animal studies.)
LINK(S):
JAMA article (Free abstract; full text requires subscription)
JAMA editorial (Subscription required)
Associated Press story (Free)
Published in Physician's First Watch August 20, 2008
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