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Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study
We conducted a population-based prevalence survey in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to describe the distribution of arsenic exposure in a rural Bangladeshi population and to assess the population’s awareness to this problem as well as to possible remediation options. Water samples from 5,967 contiguous tube...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
2006
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392228/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507457 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7903 |
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author | Parvez, Faruque Chen, Yu Argos, Maria Hussain, A.Z.M. Iftikhar Momotaj, Hassina Dhar, Ratan van Geen, Alexander Graziano, Joseph H. Ahsan, Habibul |
author_facet | Parvez, Faruque Chen, Yu Argos, Maria Hussain, A.Z.M. Iftikhar Momotaj, Hassina Dhar, Ratan van Geen, Alexander Graziano, Joseph H. Ahsan, Habibul |
author_sort | Parvez, Faruque |
collection | PubMed |
description | We conducted a population-based prevalence survey in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to describe the distribution of arsenic exposure in a rural Bangladeshi population and to assess the population’s awareness to this problem as well as to possible remediation options. Water samples from 5,967 contiguous tube wells in a defined geographic area were tested using laboratory-based methods. Additionally, for each well, the owner/caretaker (or a close relative) was interviewed regarding his or her awareness of the health consequences of As exposure. Arsenic exposure data and demographic characteristics for the 65,876 users of these wells were also collected from the 5,967 respondents. Among the 65,876 residents, more than half (54%) regularly consumed well water with an As concentration ≥ 50 μg/L—above the acceptable government standard in Bangladesh. Respondents were 15–92 years of age, with an average age of 42 years, and 43% were male. Presence of awareness was significantly related to male sex, nonlabor head of household occupation, better housing, and having had the well tested for As concentration. Most respondents (92%) expressed a willingness to take steps to reduce their exposure, with switching to a safe well the most favored option (46.2%). Willingness to reduce exposure was positively related to awareness of the health risks of As. However, the association between awareness and switching to a safe well [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01–1.54] was no stronger than the associations between awareness and using surface water (with or without treatments) (OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.22–1.95) or using an existing well after treatment or increasing the depth (OR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.08–1.67). These findings suggest that health education programs may need to target individuals with lower socioeconomic status and that well switching should be encouraged with more appropriate health education. Increasing knowledge of the health consequences of As may be an important element in facilitating remediation. |
format | Text |
id | pubmed-1392228 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2006 |
publisher | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-13922282006-03-14 Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study Parvez, Faruque Chen, Yu Argos, Maria Hussain, A.Z.M. Iftikhar Momotaj, Hassina Dhar, Ratan van Geen, Alexander Graziano, Joseph H. Ahsan, Habibul Environ Health Perspect Research We conducted a population-based prevalence survey in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to describe the distribution of arsenic exposure in a rural Bangladeshi population and to assess the population’s awareness to this problem as well as to possible remediation options. Water samples from 5,967 contiguous tube wells in a defined geographic area were tested using laboratory-based methods. Additionally, for each well, the owner/caretaker (or a close relative) was interviewed regarding his or her awareness of the health consequences of As exposure. Arsenic exposure data and demographic characteristics for the 65,876 users of these wells were also collected from the 5,967 respondents. Among the 65,876 residents, more than half (54%) regularly consumed well water with an As concentration ≥ 50 μg/L—above the acceptable government standard in Bangladesh. Respondents were 15–92 years of age, with an average age of 42 years, and 43% were male. Presence of awareness was significantly related to male sex, nonlabor head of household occupation, better housing, and having had the well tested for As concentration. Most respondents (92%) expressed a willingness to take steps to reduce their exposure, with switching to a safe well the most favored option (46.2%). Willingness to reduce exposure was positively related to awareness of the health risks of As. However, the association between awareness and switching to a safe well [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01–1.54] was no stronger than the associations between awareness and using surface water (with or without treatments) (OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.22–1.95) or using an existing well after treatment or increasing the depth (OR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.08–1.67). These findings suggest that health education programs may need to target individuals with lower socioeconomic status and that well switching should be encouraged with more appropriate health education. Increasing knowledge of the health consequences of As may be an important element in facilitating remediation. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2006-03 2005-10-26 /pmc/articles/PMC1392228/ /pubmed/16507457 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7903 Text en http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from EHP may be reprinted freely. Use of materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, ?Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives?); pertinent reference information should be provided for the article from which the material was reproduced. Articles from EHP, especially the News section, may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright. |
spellingShingle | Research Parvez, Faruque Chen, Yu Argos, Maria Hussain, A.Z.M. Iftikhar Momotaj, Hassina Dhar, Ratan van Geen, Alexander Graziano, Joseph H. Ahsan, Habibul Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study |
title | Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study |
title_full | Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study |
title_fullStr | Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study |
title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study |
title_short | Prevalence of Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water and Awareness of Its Health Risks in a Bangladeshi Population: Results from a Large Population-Based Study |
title_sort | prevalence of arsenic exposure from drinking water and awareness of its health risks in a bangladeshi population: results from a large population-based study |
topic | Research |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392228/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507457 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7903 |
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