Reduced Arsenic Exposure in Drinking Water Linked to Lower Mortality

MONDAY, Nov. 24, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals exposed to contaminated drinking water, reduced arsenic exposure is associated with lower mortality from chronic diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study published online Nov. 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.Fen Wu, Ph.D., from the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues examined whether reductions in arsenic exposure are associated with lower mortality from chronic diseases in a prospective cohort study. The analyses included 10,977 participants enrolled between 2000 and 2002 in Bangladesh with calculable changes in urinary arsenic levels.The researchers found that from 2000 to 2018, the mean urinary arsenic levels decreased from 283 to 132 µg/g creatinine. There was an association for each interquartile range decrease in urinary arsenic with significantly lower chronic disease mortality, cancer mortality, and CVD mortality (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.78, 0.80, and 0.77, respectively). Larger reductions were associated with lower mortality, while higher risk was seen in association with increases. Participants whose urinary arsenic levels declined below the median had lower mortality from chronic diseases, including cancer and CVD (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.46, 0.51, and 0.43), similar to those consistently below the median (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.43 to 0.49), compared with those with consistently high urinary arsenic levels (above the baseline median of 199 µg/g creatinine)."We show what happens when people who are chronically exposed to arsenic are no longer exposed," co-lead author Alexander van Geen, Ph.D., from Columbia Climate School, said in a statement. "You're not just preventing deaths from future exposure, but also from past exposure."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Reduced Arsenic Exposure in Drinking Water Linked to Lower Mortality

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