Biomonitoring arsenic exposure by ancestry: the healthy life in an urban setting (HELIUS) study

Policymakers in Europe utilize biomonitoring to regulate exposure to arsenic and protect public health, but potentially high exposure levels among ancestral subgroups remain understudied. We assessed arsenic exposure in a random population sample of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, stratified by European-Dutch vs Asian and African-Dutch ancestry (n = 60, 30 women, aged 40-63 years). We analyzed total spot urinary arsenic with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and used food frequency questionnaires to calculate the exposure to inorganic arsenic (reference point <0.8 nmol/kg body mass/day) from rice, fish, and water consumption. Urinary arsenic (40-4828 nmol/L, mean 532 (SE 116); respectively 312 (60) in European-Dutch vs. 642 (169) in Asian and African-Dutch), was independently associated with rice consumption (343 nmol/L (95 % CI, 112-575)/100 g rice). Inorganic arsenic intake (87-976 nmol/day, mean 397, SE 32), respectively 175 (14) in European-Dutch (2.4 (0.2) nmol/kg body mass/day) vs 508 (37) in Asian and African-Dutch (6.7 (0.5) nmol/kg body mass/day), was independently associated with systolic blood pressure (3.1 (1.5-4.8) mm Hg/100 nmol iAs). The high dietary arsenic exposure among certain ancestry subgroups living in Europe is concerning. Health policies should be developed to monitor these subgroups and reduce their inorganic arsenic intake to the unavoidable minimum.