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Yu Chen,¹ Regina M. Santella,² Muhammad G. Kibriya,³ Qiao Wang,² Maya Kappil,² Wendy J. Verret,⁴ Joseph H. Graziano,² and Habibul Ahsan^3,5

¹Departments of Environmental Medicine and Medicine, and New York University Cancer Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA; ²Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; ³Department of Health Studies and Cancer Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; ⁴School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA; ⁵Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

Abstract
Background: Epidemiologic studies of cardiovascular disease risk factors and appropriate biomarkers in populations exposed to a wide range of arsenic levels are a public health research priority.

Objective: We investigated the relationship between inorganic arsenic exposure from drinking water and plasma levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) , both markers of endothelial dysfunction and vascular inflammation, in an arsenic-exposed population in Araihazar, Bangladesh.

Methods: The study participants included 115 individuals with arsenic-related skin lesions participating in a 2 2 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of vitamin E and selenium supplementation. Arsenic exposure status and plasma levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were assessed at baseline and after 6 months of follow-up.

Results: Baseline well arsenic, a long-term measure of arsenic exposure, was positively associated with baseline levels of both sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 and with changes in the two markers over time. At baseline, for every 1-µg/L increase in well arsenic there was an increase of 0.10 ng/mL [95% confidence interval (CI) , 0.00–0.20] and 0.33 ng/mL (95% CI, 0.15–0.51) in plasma sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1, respectively. Every 1-µg/L increase in well arsenic was associated with a rise of 0.11 ng/mL (95% CI, 0.01–0.22) and 0.17 ng/mL (95% CI, 0.00–0.35) in sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 from baseline to follow-up, respectively, in spite of recent changes in urinary arsenic as well as vitamin E and selenium supplementation during the study period.

Conclusions: The findings indicate an effect of chronic arsenic exposure from drinking water on vascular inflammation that persists over time and also suggest a potential mechanism underlying the association between arsenic exposure and cardiovascular disease.

Key words: arsenic, Bangladesh, cardiovascular disease, epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, endothelial dysfunction, vascular inflammation. Environ Health Perspect 115:1415–1420 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.10277 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 17 July 2007]

Address correspondence to Y. Chen, Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, 650 First Ave., Room 510, New York, NY 10016 USA. Telephone: (212) 263-4839. Fax: (212) 263-8570. E-mail: Y.Chen@med.nyu.edu

We thank our staff, field workers, and study participants in Bangladesh without whom this work would not have been possible.

This research was supported by grants P42ES10349, P30ES09089, and ES000260 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ; and R01CA107431, R01CA102484, and CA016087 from the National Cancer Institute.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 17 March 2007 ; accepted 17 July 2007.