New study links arsenic exposure at low levels to increase in fatal heart disease

(http://www.livescience.com/39886-arsenic-heart-disease.html) A new study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that exposure to even low levels of arsenic in drinking water and food may increase the risk of developing and dying from heart disease.

Researchers performing the study analyzed the urine samples of 3,575 American Indians living in regions where arsenic levels in drinking water were above the EPA limit of 10 micrograms per liter but below 100 µg/L. The researchers collected urine samples between 1989 and 1991 and divided the participants into four groups based on the amount of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in their urine. (iAs is thought to be more toxic than organic arsenic.)

The participants were followed until 2008. The group with the highest levels of iAs were 32% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 65% more likely to die from the condition compared to the groups with the lowest concentration of iAs in urine.

In 2001, the EPA estimated that 13 million Americans have arsenic levels above the 10 µg/L limit in their drinking water. No limit is set on food, though arsenic is found in chicken and has been found in rice at levels that the FDA claims carry no short-term health risks, but they admit that research on long-term health effects is necessary. The FDA set limits on the amount of arsenic allowed in apple juice earlier this year.

Although this study is not conclusive, it strongly suggests that any level of arsenic in one's diet carries the risk of developing deadly heart disease and should be avoided at all opportunities to protect one's health.