Logo image
Dietary Intake of Methionine, Cysteine, and Protein and Urinary Arsenic Excretion in Bangladesh
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Dietary Intake of Methionine, Cysteine, and Protein and Urinary Arsenic Excretion in Bangladesh

Julia E. Heck, Jeri W. Nieves, Yu Chen, Faruque Parvez, Paul W. Brandt-Rauf, Joseph H. Graziano, Vesna Slavkovich, Geoffrey R. Howe and Habibul Ahsan
Environmental health perspectives, v 117(1), pp 99-104
01 Jan 2009
PMID: 19165394
url
https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11589View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Science & Technology Toxicology
BACKGROUND: In Bangladesh, millions of people are exposed to arsenic in drinking water; arsenic is associated with increased risk of cancer. Once ingested, arsenic is metabolized via methylation and excreted in urine. Knowledge about nutritional factors affecting individual variation in methylation is limited. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine associations between intakes of protein, methionine, and cysteine total urinary arsenic in a large population-based sample. METHODS: The study subjects were 10,402 disease-free residents of Araihazar, Bangladesh, who participated in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS). Food intakes were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire developed for the study population. Nutrient composition was determined by using the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine association between total urinary arsenic across quintiles of nutrient intakes while controlling for arsenic exposure from drinking water and other predictors of urinary arsenic. RESULTS: Greater intakes of protein, methionine, and cysteine were associated with 10-15% greater total urinary arsenic excretion, after controlling for total energy intake, body weight, sex, age, tobacco use, and intake of some other nutrients. CONCLUSIONS: Given previously reported risks between lower rates of arsenic excretion and increased rates of cancer, these findings support the role of nutrition in preventing arsenic-related disease.

Metrics

10 Record Views
52 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#6 Clean Water and Sanitation

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Toxicology
Logo image