Int Arch Occup Environ Health (2011) 84:591–600 DOI 10.1007/s00420-010-0591-6 O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E Lung function in adults following in utero and childhood exposure to arsenic in drinking water: preliminary ﬁndings David C. Dauphine´ • Catterina Ferreccio • Sandeep Guntur • Yan Yuan • S. Katharine Hammond • John Balmes • Allan H. Smith • Craig Steinmaus Received: 7 June 2010 / Accepted: 6 October 2010 / Published online: 24 October 2010 The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Purpose Evidence suggests that arsenic in drinking water causes non-malignant lung disease, but nearly all data concern exposed adults. The desert city of Antofagasta (population 257,976) in northern Chile had high concen- trations of arsenic in drinking water ([800 lg/l) from 1958 until 1970, when a new treatment plant was installed. This scenario, with its large population, distinct period of high exposure, and accurate data on past exposure, is virtually unprecedented in environmental epidemiology. We con- ducted a pilot study on early-life arsenic exposure and long-term lung function. We present these preliminary ﬁndings because of the magnitude of the effects observed. D. C. Dauphine´ Y. Yuan A. H. Smith C. Steinmaus (&) Arsenic Health Effects Research Program, School of Public Health, University of California, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA e-mail: craigs@berkeley.edu C. Ferreccio Pontiﬁcia Universidad Cato´lica de Chile, Santiago, Chile e-mail: cferrec@med.puc.cl S. Guntur Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA D. C. Dauphine´ S. K. Hammond J. Balmes A. H. Smith Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA J. Balmes Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA C. Steinmaus Ofﬁce of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, USA Methods We recruited a convenience sample consisting primarily of nursing school employees in Antofagasta and Arica, a city with low drinking water arsenic. Lung func- tion and respiratory symptoms in 32 adults exposed to [800 lg/l arsenic before age 10 were compared to 65 adults without high early-life exposure. Results Early-life arsenic exposure was associated with 11.5% lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (P = 0.04), 12.2% lower forced vital capacity (FVC) (P = 0.04), and increased breathlessness (prevalence odds ratio = 5.94, 95% conﬁdence interval 1.36–26.0). Expo- sure–response relationships between early-life arsenic concentration and adult FEV1 and FVC were also identiﬁed (P trend = 0.03). Conclusions Early-life exposure to arsenic in drinking water may have irreversible respiratory effects of a mag- nitude similar to smoking throughout adulthood. Given the small study size and non-random recruitment methods, further research is needed to conﬁrm these ﬁndings. Keywords Arsenic Childhood exposure Drinking water In utero exposure Lung Respiratory Introduction Millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic in drinking water (Ravenscroft et al. 2009), an established cause of lung cancer (IARC 2004). Arsenic affects many body tissues, but the human lung seems particularly sus- ceptible (NRC 2001). In fact, lung cancer appears to be the most common cause of death from arsenic in drinking water (Smith et al. 1992; Yuan et al. 2007). Most lung carcinogens—including tobacco smoke, asbestos, and sil- ica—also cause non-malignant respiratory effects. The ﬁrst 123