A perspective of chronic low exposure of arsenic on non-working women: Risk of hypertension

The relationship between arsenic (As) exposure and hypertension risk are extensively studied. The As content in scalp hair has been used as a reliable indicator of population for long-time exposure from different sources. Therefore, we investigated the association between hair As concentration and hypertension risk, as well as the potential modifying effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to phase II metabolism enzyme genes. We recruited 398 non-working women in Shanxi Province, northern China, from Aug 2012 to May 2013, including 163 subjects with hypertension (cases) and 235 healthy controls. Scalp hair and blood samples were collected from each subject. We analyzed the As concentrations of ~24-cm-long strands of hair representing the two most recent years of growth and SNPs of three genes (epoxide hydrolase 1, N-acetyltransferase 2, and glutathione S-transferase P1) in each subject. The results revealed that the hair As concentration of this population was significantly lower than in populations living near high As polluted sources in China and other countries. The median As concentration (inter-quartile range) of hair in the cases (i.e. 0.211 [0.114–0.395] μg/g hair) was higher than in the controls (i.e. 0.101 [0.048–0.227] μg/g hair). Higher hair As concentrations were associated with an elevated hypertension risk, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.55 [95% confidence interval: 1.55–4.20]. No interaction effects between hair As concentration and SNPs related to phase II metabolism enzymes on hypertension risk were observed. It was concluded that chronic low exposure level of As might be associated with hypertension risk among the study subjects. [Display omitted] •We aimed to investigate an association of hair arsenic (As) with risk of hypertension.•We recruited 163 female subjects with hypertension (cases) and 235 female controls.•As concentration of women's hair grown in the recent two years was analyzed.•It revealed that As concentration of hair in cases was higher than in controls.•Chronic low exposure level of As was associated with hypertension risk.