Association of arsenic exposure with measles antibody titers in US children: Influence of sex and serum folate levels

Taehyun Roh, Annette K. Regan, Natalie M. Johnson, Nishat Tasnim Hasan, Nusrat Fahmida Trisha, Anisha Aggarwal, Daikwon Han

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Exposure to arsenic during childhood is associated with various adverse health conditions. However, little is known about the effect of arsenic exposure on vaccine-related humoral immunity in children. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003–2004 and 2009–2010) to study the relationship between urinary arsenic and measles antibody levels in 476 US children aged 6–11. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate the association, adjusting for cycle, age, race, body mass index (BMI), serum cotinine, poverty index ratio, and vitamin B12 and selenium intakes. Stratified analyses were conducted by sex and serum folate levels using the median as cutoff (18.7 ng/mL). The measles antibody concentrations in the 3rd and 4th quartiles were found to have significantly decreased by 28.5 % (95 % Confidence Interval (CI) −47.6, −2.28) and 36.8 % (95 % CI −50.2, −19.5), compared to the lowest quartile among boys with serum folate levels lower than 18.7 ng/ml. The serum measles antibody titers significantly decreased by 16.7 % (95 %CI −25.0, −7.61) for each doubling of creatinine-corrected urinary total inorganic arsenic concentrations in the same group. No associations were found in boys with high serum folate levels or in girls. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and develop interventions to protect children from infectious diseases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number108329
Pages (from-to)108329
JournalEnvironment International
Volume183
Early online dateNov 15 2023
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2024

Keywords

  • Arsenic
  • Children
  • Folate
  • Measles
  • Vaccine antibodies

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Science(all)

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