Document type
ArticleVersion
Published versionPublication date
Publication license
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/113436
Urinary Arsenic Speciation in Children and Pregnant Women from Spain
Journal Title
Director/Tutor
Additional contribution
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Inorganic arsenic (i-As) is a non-threshold human carcinogen
that has been associated with several adverse health outcomes.
Exposure to i-As is of particular concern among pregnant women,
infants and children, as they are specifically vulnerable to the
adverse health effects of i-As, and in utero and early-life
exposure, even low to moderate levels of i-As, may have a marked
effect throughout the lifespan. Ion chromatography-mass
spectrometry detection (IC-ICP-MS) was used to analyse urinary
arsenic speciation, as an exposure biomarker, in samples of
4-year-old children with relatively low-level arsenic exposure
living in different regions in Spain including Asturias,
Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia. The profile of arsenic
metabolites in urine was also determined in samples taken during
pregnancy (1st trimester) and in the children from Valencia of 7
years old. The median of the main arsenic species found in the
4-year-old children was 9.71 mug/l (arsenobetaine-AsB), 3.97
mug/l (dimethylarsinic acid-DMA), 0.44 mug/l (monomethylarsonic
acid-MMA) and 0.35 mug/l (i-As). Statistically significant
differences were found in urinary AsB, MMA and i-As according to
the study regions in the 4-year-old, and also in DMA among
pregnant women and their children. Spearman's correlation
coefficient among urinary arsenic metabolites was calculated,
and, in general, a strong methylation capacity to methylate i-As
to MMA was observed.
Related resource
Subject
Subject (English)
Citation
Citation
SIGNES PASTOR, Antonio J., et al. Urinary Arsenic Speciation in Children and Pregnant Women from
Spain. Exposure & Health. 2017. Vol. 9, num. 2, pags. 105-111. ISSN 2451-9766. [consulted: 7 of October of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/113436