Human arsenic exposure and lung function impairment in coal-burning areas in Guizhou, China

To evaluate the effect of coal-burning arsenic (As) exposure on lung function and the potential underlying mechanisms, a total of 217 As-exposed subjects and 75 reference subjects were recruited into this study. Hair arsenic (H–As), pulmonary function tests, and serum inflammatory markers CC16, SP-A, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 were evaluated. Residents from As-exposed areas showed higher H–As concentrations (median 0.25 μg/g) than subjects from the reference area (median 0.14 μg/g). Large reductions in lung function parameters were noted in the As-exposed group. A significant negative correlation was observed between H–As concentrations and lung function. Specifically, monotonic negative dose-response relationships were observed between H–As and FEV1(%), FEV1/FVC (%) and FEF75 (%) (all P