Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. What was reviewed?
This review evaluates arsenic exposure biomarkers and their links to non-malignant diseases in Taiwan, Chile, and Bangladesh, integrating epidemiology with mechanistic blood markers. The authors synthesize how arsenic exposure biomarkers such as Big endothelin-1, oxidized LDL, CRP, soluble adhesion molecules, VEGF, MMP-2/9, uric acid, and LINE-1 hypomethylation map onto hypertension, atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, diabetes, and asthma-like airway disease. The paper uniquely leverages ongoing exposure in rural Bangladesh to relate individual biomarker shifts to measured arsenic in water, hair, and nails, while triangulating with earlier natural experiments in Taiwan and Chile. A schematic of endothelial injury pathways and a consolidated biomarker table anchor the mechanistic narrative.
Who was reviewed?
Populations chronically exposed to naturally contaminated groundwater were compared across settings and eras. Southwestern Taiwan residents consuming deep-well water averaged ~780 µg/L arsenic for 20–30 years and developed blackfoot disease and excess vascular mortality. In Antofagasta, Chile, municipal water contained ~860 µg/L from 1958–1970; decades-long follow-ups linked early-life exposure to later ischemic heart disease, diabetes modified by obesity, and impaired lung function. In rural western Bangladesh, current users of tube-wells (average 170–190 µg/L; up to ~1,000 µg/L) enabled cross-sectional analyses connecting personal exposure indices (water, hair, nail arsenic) to biomarker and functional readouts of cardiometabolic and respiratory risk. Maps and exposure timelines contextualize the cohorts.
Most important findings
| Critical points for HTMC | Details for regulatory relevance |
|---|---|
| Vascular injury cascade | Arsenic activates endothelial NOX2 → ROS → oxLDL accumulation and LOX-1 signaling, upregulating VCAM-1/ICAM-1, CRP, and endothelin-1; this fuels vasoconstriction, monocyte adhesion, and atherosclerotic progression (Fig. 2, p. 7). Plasma Big endothelin-1 rises with water, hair, and nail arsenic (r > 0.4), and hypertension prevalence increases in contaminated areas. |
| Dyslipidemia pattern specific to toxicity | Total cholesterol and triglycerides do not increase, but HDL decreases and oxLDL increases; the oxLDL/HDL ratio rises dose-dependently, sharpening risk stratification without standard lipid confounding |
| Pro-inflammatory and pro-adhesive milieu | CRP, sVCAM-1, and sICAM-1 increase with exposure, reflecting endothelial activation central to HTMC risk criteria for vascular toxicity. |
| Plaque growth and instability signals | Serum VEGF, MMP-2, and MMP-9 increase with arsenic; these markers support angiogenesis and matrix remodeling linked to plaque vulnerability and should inform advanced certification tiers |
| Coagulation/endothelial damage marker | Soluble thrombomodulin elevates with exposure and correlates with blood pressure and adhesion molecules, indicating endothelial injury measurable in community surveillance. |
| Metabolic dysfunction via muscle | Fasting glucose, 2-h GTT glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR all rise with arsenic; concurrently, serum creatinine and lean body mass decrease, implicating skeletal muscle atrophy as a driver of insulin resistance, with stronger effects in women. |
| Respiratory immunophenotype | Spirometry shows airflow obstruction and reversible airway obstruction; total IgE doubles in RAO, and Th2 cytokines (IL-4/-5/-13) and eotaxin rise, indicating Th2-dominant asthma risk that aligns with exposure grading |
| Exposure context and modifiers | Taiwan’s extreme, long-term exposure produced blackfoot disease; Chile’s early-life exposure shows adult cardiopulmonary sequelae; Bangladesh’s ongoing moderate-to-high exposures allow dose-response biomarker validation, with obesity modifying diabetes risk in Chile but minimal obesity confounding in rural Bangladesh (pp. 2–5, 10–11). |
Key implications
For primary regulatory impacts, arsenic exposure biomarkers justify enforceable limits below 10 µg/L and monitoring beyond water to hair and nails. Certification requirements should include oxLDL/HDL, Big endothelin-1, sVCAM-1/sICAM-1, VEGF, MMP-2/9, and sTM panels plus spirometry and Th2 cytokines. Industry applications span water treatment validation and product label claims. Research gaps include nitric oxide balance and muscle quality metrics. Practical recommendations prioritize integrated exposure-biomarker surveillance and sex-stratified thresholds.
Citation
Himeno S, Hossain K. Non-malignant diseases associated with environmental arsenic exposure in Taiwan, Chile, and Bangladesh. Metallomics Research. 2021. doi:10.11299/metallomicsresearch.MR202109
Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid that ranks first on the ATSDR toxic substances list. Inorganic arsenic contaminates water, rice and consumer products, and exposure is linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive deficits, low birth weight and cancer. HMTC’s stringent certification applies ALARA principles to protect vulnerable populations.
