UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Arsenic - A New Public Health Threat?

Keywords: arsenic, diabetes (PubMed Search)

Posted: 8/21/2008 by Fermin Barrueto, MD (Updated: 11/30/2023)
Click here to contact Fermin Barrueto, MD

A recent landmark article has cited a connection between non-insulin dependent diabetes and low-level arsenic in our drinking water.

Approximately 13 million in the USA are drinking water that contains Arsenic levels higher than EPA allowable standards
This study controlled for organic arsenic (found in seafood) and was looking for the effect of inorganic arsenic which is the more toxic compound - don't have to stop eating sushi
This study essentially found a dose response curve with people with lower arsenic levels having lower incidence of non-insulin dependent diabetes, those with higher levels, higher risk.

Arsenic exposure and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in US adults.

JAMA. 2008 Aug 20;300(7):814-22.