Dose-response relationship between arsenic exposure and the serum enzymes for liver function tests in the individuals exposed to arsenic: a cross sectional study in Bangladesh

Islam, Khairul; Haque, Abedul; Karim, Rezaul; Fajol, Abul; Hossain, Ekhtear; Salam, Kazi Abdus; Ali, Nurshad; Saud, Zahangir Alam; Rahman, Matiar; Rahman, Mashiur; Karim, Rezaul; Sultana, Papia; Hossain, Mostaque; Akhand, Anwarul Azim; Mandal, Abul; Miyataka, Hideki; Himeno, Seiichiro; Hossain, Khaled

doi:10.1186/1476-069X-10-64

Environmental Health

Table 1 General characteristics of the study subjects based on water arsenic levels

From: Dose-response relationship between arsenic exposure and the serum enzymes for liver function tests in the individuals exposed to arsenic: a cross sectional study in Bangladesh

Characteristics	Lowest (0.11 - 24.7 μg/L)	Low (34 - 142 μg/L)	Medium (145 - 242 μg/L)	High (249 - 546 μg/L)	p-value
No. of subjects	50	50	50	50
Sex [no. (male/female)]	32/18	31/19	28/22	30/20
Age [years (Mean ± SD)]	39.14 ± 11.49	40.78 ± 12.17	36.04 ± 10.94	37.9 ± 12.5	0.40^†
Median (IQR^a)	39 (30 - 47)	35 (30 - 55)	35 (28 - 43)	38 (27 - 45)
Water As concentration (μg/L) (Mean ± SD)	7.51 ± 7.32	92.89 ± 32.06	191.57 ± 31.03	393.34 ± 107.89	< 0.01^†
Median (IQR^a)	5.3 (3.2 - 7.29)	93.0 (69.4 - 117)	186.0 (168 - 214)	351.5 (294 - 527)
Cumulative As index (mg) (Mean ± SD)	193.33 ± 39.82	2361.32 ± 290.31	3751.4 ± 325.13	7466.72 ± 782.04	< 0.01^†
Median (IQR^a)	58.04 (31.13 - 224.48)	1600.89 (934.91 - 2979.5)	3125.86 (2119.92 - 4777.12)	5515.52 (3007.42-11524.88)
Years of arsenic exposure (Mean ± SD)	16.92 ± 12.03	16.08 ± 9.78	14.2 ± 8.77	13.34 ± 9.17	0.26*
Occupation
Female
Housewives (%)	100	84.21	90.91	85
Others (%)[Farmworkers, tailors etc.]	-	15.79	9.09	15
Male
Farmers (%)	87.5	87.1	92.86	90
Others (%) [Venders, rickshaw pullers etc.]	12.5	12.9	7.14	10
(+) symptomps [% (Melanosis and hyperkeratosis)]	78	94	60	90	< 0.01^‡
(-) symptomps (%)	22	6	40	10
Smoking habit (%)
Yes	18	34	8	10	< 0.01^‡
No	82	66	92	90
Alcohol intake	-	-	-	-	-
BMI^b (Mean ± SD)	21.41 ± 3.54	20.39 ± 3.16	21.23 ± 3.31	20.54 ± 3.26	0.32^†
Median (IQR^a)	21.45 (18.32 - 21.45)	19.66 (18.04 - 22.24)	20.66 (18.78 - 24.13)	19.96 (18.37 - 21.97)
ALP activity (U/L) (Mean ± SD)	84.72 ± 22.67	93.99 ± 24.48	100.40 ± 22.19	126.48 ± 35.03	< 0.01*
Median (IQR^a)	84.17 (68.90 - 96.90)	92.73 (77.87 - 106.03)	97 (85.51 - 113.13)	123.6 (102.7 - 157.48)
AST activity (U/L) (Mean ± SD)	34.98 ± 7.65	36.19 ± 7.29	37.14 ± 8.20	49.98 ± 25.31	< 0.01*
Median (IQR^a)	35 (29.14 - 41)	35.58 (30.43 - 40.07)	34.65 (31.05 - 42)	42.5 (36 - 53.5)
ALT activity (U/L) (Mean ± SD)	24.27 ± 7.69	26.91 ± 10.72	30.82 ± 15.08	43.62 ± 4.90	< 0.01*
Median (IQR^a)	23.18 (19.22 - 26.84)	24.22 (20.57 - 32.09)	27.93 (21.64 - 36)	32 (25 - 46)

As = Arsenic; IQR^a = Interquartile range; BMI^b = Body Mass Index was calculated as body weight (kg) divided by body height squared (m²); *p-, ^‡ p- and ^† p -values were from the F-test, Chi-square test and Kruskal Wallis test, respectively.

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ISSN: 1476-069X

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