Gong Gordon, Hargrave Kristopher A, Hobson Valerie, Spallholz Julian, Boylan Mallory, Lefforge David, O'Bryant Sid E
F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Lubbock, TX 79430-6232, USA.
J Environ Health. 2011 Sep;74(2):16-22.
Arsenic is a ubiquitous environmental toxin with known neurological consequences. Few studies, however, have investigated groundwater arsenic concentrations and cognition among adults and elders. In the study described in this article, the authors examined the potential link between cognitive functioning and low concentrations of arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic concentrations were estimated by the Geographic Information System approach (GIS-arsenic) for 299 rural-dwelling adults and elders. Cognition was assessed with Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Those in the relatively high GIS-arsenic exposure (> 10.0 microg/L) group had significantly lower MMSE scores than those in the low GIS-arsenic exposure (< or = 10.0 microg/L) group (p < .03). The number of years of education was significantly lower in those in the high GIS-arsenic group(s) than in those in the low GIS-arsenic group (p < .05). These results suggest that poorer cognitive functioning and lower education levels were associated with higher (though still low-level) GIS-arsenic levels in this rural adult cohort.
砷是一种普遍存在的环境毒素，已知会对神经系统产生影响。然而，很少有研究调查成年人和老年人中地下水中的砷浓度与认知情况。在本文所述的研究中，作者研究了认知功能与饮用水中低浓度砷之间的潜在联系。通过地理信息系统方法（GIS-砷）估算了299名农村成年居民和老年人的砷浓度。采用福斯廷简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）评估认知情况。地理信息系统估算的砷暴露水平相对较高（>10.0微克/升）的组，其MMSE得分显著低于地理信息系统估算的砷暴露水平较低（≤10.0微克/升）的组（p<0.03）。高地理信息系统估算的砷暴露组人群的受教育年限显著低于低地理信息系统估算的砷暴露组（p<0.05）。这些结果表明，在这个农村成年人群体中，较差的认知功能和较低的教育水平与较高（尽管仍处于低水平）的地理信息系统估算的砷暴露水平有关。
