An estimation of the global burden of disease due to skin lesions caused by arsenic in drinking water

Lorna Fewtrell, Ron Fuge, David Kay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The global burden of disease due to skin lesions caused by arsenic in drinking water was estimated by combining country-based exposure data with selected exposure–response relationships derived from the literature. Populations were considered to be exposed to elevated arsenic levels if their drinking water contained arsenic concentrations of 50mg l21 or greater. Elevated arsenic concentrations in drinking water result in a significant global burden of disease,
even when confining the health outcome to skin lesions. The burden of disease was particularly marked in the World Health Organization (WHO) comparative risk assessment (CRA) ‘Sear D’ region, which includes Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Unsurprisingly, Bangladesh was the worst affected country with 143 disability adjusted life years (DALYs) per 1,000 population. Although this initial estimate is subject to a large degree of uncertainty, it does represent an important first step in allowing the comparison of the problem relating to elevated arsenic in drinking water to other environmental health outcomes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)101-107
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Water and Health
Volume3
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2005

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