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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

BACKGROUND: Chronic arsenic exposure has been shown to cause liver damage. However, serum hepatic enzyme activity as recognized on liver function tests (LFTs) showing a dose-response relationship with arsenic exposure has not yet been clearly documented. The aim of our study was to investigate the d...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Islam, Khairul, Haque, Abedul, Karim, Rezaul, Fajol, Abul, Hossain, Ekhtear, Salam, Kazi Abdus, Ali, Nurshad, Saud, Zahangir Alam, Rahman, Matiar, Rahman, Mashiur, Sultana, Papia, Hossain, Mostaque, Akhand, Anwarul Azim, Mandal, Abul, Miyataka, Hideki, Himeno, Seiichiro, Hossain, Khaled
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3146918/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21740555
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-10-64
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: Chronic arsenic exposure has been shown to cause liver damage. However, serum hepatic enzyme activity as recognized on liver function tests (LFTs) showing a dose-response relationship with arsenic exposure has not yet been clearly documented. The aim of our study was to investigate the dose-response relationship between arsenic exposure and major serum enzyme marker activity associated with LFTs in the population living in arsenic-endemic areas in Bangladesh. METHODS: A total of 200 residents living in arsenic-endemic areas in Bangladesh were selected as study subjects. Arsenic concentrations in the drinking water, hair and nails were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The study subjects were stratified into quartile groups as follows, based on concentrations of arsenic in the drinking water, as well as in subjects' hair and nails: lowest, low, medium and high. The serum hepatic enzyme activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were then assayed. RESULTS: Arsenic concentrations in the subjects' hair and nails were positively correlated with arsenic levels in the drinking water. As regards the exposure-response relationship with arsenic in the drinking water, the respective activities of ALP, AST and ALT were found to be significantly increased in the high-exposure groups compared to the lowest-exposure groups before and after adjustments were made for different covariates. With internal exposure markers (arsenic in hair and nails), the ALP, AST and ALT activity profiles assumed a similar shape of dose-response relationship, with very few differences seen in the higher groups compared to the lowest group, most likely due to the temporalities of exposure metrics. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that arsenic concentrations in the drinking water were strongly correlated with arsenic concentrations in the subjects' hair and nails. Further, this study revealed a novel exposure- and dose- response relationship between arsenic exposure metrics and serum hepatic enzyme activity. Elevated serum hepatic enzyme activities in the higher exposure gradients provided new insights into arsenic-induced liver toxicity that might be helpful for the early prognosis of arsenic-induced liver diseases.