594 Table 1 Characteristics of participants [mean ± SD or n (%)] BMI body mass index a Reported for jobs held C6 months b Reported ‘‘irritating or visible smoke, vapors, gases, or dust regularly in same room’’ c Reported someone smoking regularly in same room d Average per day during period of regular smoking e Never smokers counted as zeroes f One subject reported both asthma and tuberculosis g Rated by EasyOne spirometer from 0 (no acceptable tests) to 5 (C3 acceptable tests and difference between highest 2 forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) values B150 ml) h Difference between highest 2 FEV1 and FVC values B200 ml Female Age in years Height in centimeters Weight in kilograms Obese (BMI C 30 kg/m2) Highest education completed Less than high school High school Technical school or incomplete university Graduated from university Data missing Occupational vapors, dust, gas, or fumesa Indoor air pollution reportedb Ever Before age ten Wood, charcoal, or kerosene in childhood home Secondhand smoke exposurec Ever Currently Before age ten Smoking Ever Currently Age started Cigarettes per day everd,e Pack-yearse Respiratory illness diagnosed ever Anyf Chronic bronchitis Asthma Pulmonary tuberculosis Lung function test quality Scoreg Reproducible resultsh Int Arch Occup Environ Health (2011) 84:591–600 Peak arsenic before age 10 P value 0–250 lg/l (n = 65) 45 (69%) 48.9 ± 9.7 161.1 ± 8.6 72.2 ± 13.7 18 (28%) 9 (14%) 12 (19%) 20 (31%) 21 (32%) 3 (5%) 27 (42%) 13 (20%) 9 (14%) 41 (63%) 35 (54%) 13 (20%) 11 (17%) 40 (62%) 21 (32%) 20.2 ± 5.2 3.4 ± 5.4 4.1 ± 8.1 8 (12%) 0 (0%) 5 (8%) 4 (6%) 4.2 ± 1.1 60 (92%) [800 lg/l (n = 32) 18 (56%) 48.0 ± 6.2 162.3 ± 8.7 72.6 ± 15.6 6 (19%) 5 (16%) 8 (25%) 17 (53%) 2 (6%) 0 (0%) 5 (16%) 3 (9%) 3 (9%) 12 (38%) 16 (50%) 3 (9%) 12 (38%) 24 (75%) 11 (34%) 17.6 ± 3.7 4.2 ± 5.1 4.9 ± 7.0 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3.8 ± 1.2 28 (88%) 0.21 0.62 0.54 0.90 0.34 0.89 0.53 0.05 0.003 0.22 0.01 0.18 0.53 0.01 0.60 0.15 0.02 0.19 0.84 0.04 0.47 0.65 0.15 0.16 0.11 0.15 0.05 0.45 10, half were exposed in utero. The rest were either born before the peak exposure period began, or moved into the area after they were born. Of the 65 ‘‘unexposed’’ subjects, 20 drank water with 50–250 lg/l arsenic before age 10. No subject’s highest drinking water arsenic concentration was between 250 and 800 lg/l. Table 1 shows demographic and descriptive character- istics of participants. Subjects exposed to [800 lg/l arsenic in drinking water before age 10 were more likely to have ever smoked regularly (75 vs. 62% of subjects with- out high early-life exposure), averaged more cigarettes per day (4.2 vs. 3.4), and started smoking earlier (17.6 vs. 20.2 years old). Additionally, more exposed subjects 123 reported childhood secondhand smoke (38 vs. 17%) and fewer of them graduated university (6 vs. 32%). On the other hand, they reported less secondhand smoke currently (9 vs. 20% of unexposed), less occupational exposure to vapors, dusts, gases or fumes (16 vs. 42%), and less wood, charcoal, and kerosene fuel exposure before age 10 (38 vs. 63%). Adjusting for these and other potential confounders had little impact on associations between arsenic and lung function (Tables 2, 3, 4). No subjects reported a past diagnosis of lung or any other type of cancer. Table 2 shows lung function mean residuals (observed minus predicted) and percent of age-, sex-, and height- predicted values. High early-life arsenic exposure was