Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
Mizushima Kyodo Hospital, Kurashiki, Okayama 712-8567, Japan.
Environ Res. 2017 May;155:86-91. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Mar 20.
Arsenic poisoning interferes with bone metabolism in laboratory animal studies, and human studies suggest lowered bone mass density at elevated exposures. As the long-term consequences of developmental arsenic toxicity are poorly known, we carried out a clinical pilot study of survivors of the mass arsenic poisoning of bottle-fed infants in Japan in 1955.
The purpose was to evaluate the association between developmental arsenic exposure and physical stature and routine blood chemistry reflecting major organ functions more than 50 years later.
The study sample consisted of 50 individuals recruited at two hospitals in Okayama Prefecture, Japan: 27 known poisoning victims (14 men and 13 women), and 23 non-exposed local controls of similar age (10 men, 13 women). We collected information from physical examinations that included routine blood counts and blood biochemistry.
The average height of the exposed group was 6.5cm below that of the unexposed group (p=0.02), while the latter was in accordance with national data for both sexes. In addition, the exposed participants had a higher mean (SD) serum concentration of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of 233 (63) U/L than the unexposed participants (191 (44) U/L) (p=0.01). No other statistically significant difference was observed, and liver enzymes were within normal ranges.
Adults who had suffered arsenic poisoning during infancy showed decreased height and elevated ALP that suggests abnormalities in bone metabolism possibly induced by arsenic incorporated in the bone matrix.
砷中毒会干扰实验室动物研究中的骨代谢，人类研究表明，在暴露量增加的情况下，骨密度会降低。由于长期砷毒性的后果知之甚少，我们对 1955 年日本一批婴儿因奶瓶喂养而砷中毒的幸存者进行了一项临床试点研究。
评估发育性砷暴露与身高以及反映主要器官功能的常规血液化学之间的关系，这些影响发生在砷暴露 50 多年之后。
研究样本由日本冈山县的两家医院招募的 50 名个体组成：27 名已知中毒受害者（14 名男性和 13 名女性）和 23 名年龄相近的未暴露当地对照者（10 名男性，13 名女性）。我们从体检中收集信息，包括常规血液计数和血液生化。
暴露组的平均身高比未暴露组低 6.5 厘米（p=0.02），而后者与两性的全国数据相符。此外，暴露组参与者的血清碱性磷酸酶（ALP）浓度平均值（SD）为 233（63）U/L，高于未暴露组（191（44）U/L）（p=0.01）。未观察到其他具有统计学意义的差异，且肝酶均在正常范围内。
在婴儿期遭受砷中毒的成年人身高较低，ALP 升高，这表明骨代谢异常，可能是由于骨基质中的砷所致。
