HYPERTENSION AND ARSENICOSIS

Arsenic in drinking water is recognized as a major public health problem in several regions of the world. Studies from Taiwan, China reported that chronic arsenic exposure has also been associated with development of peripheral vascular disease. The present paper is a systemic review on association of chronic arsenic exposure and occurrence of systemic hypertension (HTN). Increased prevalence of HTN has been reported from Taiwan, Chile, China, Bangladesh and West Bengal. A dose response relationship was also reported from Taiwan, Bangladesh and West Bengal. Increased prevalence of HTN was also reported with low dose of arsenic from USA. Meta-analysis of published reports suggests possible association between chronic arsenic exposure and hypertension. However, the small number of studies and limitations in study quality pose challenges to establishing causation between arsenic exposure and hypertension.