Inorganic arsenic (i-As) is a non-threshold human carcinogen that has been associated with several adverse health outcomes. Exposure to i-As is of particular concern among pregnant women, infants and children, as they are specifically vulnerable to the adverse health effects of i-As, and in utero and early-life exposure, even low to moderate levels of i-As, may have a marked effect throughout the lifespan. Ion chromatography-mass spectrometry detection (IC-ICP-MS) was used to analyse urinary arsenic speciation, as an exposure biomarker, in samples of 4-year-old children with relatively low-level arsenic exposure living in different regions in Spain including Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia. The profile of arsenic metabolites in urine was also determined in samples taken during pregnancy (1st trimester) and in the children from Valencia of 7 years old. The median of the main arsenic species found in the 4-year-old children was 9.71 μg/l (arsenobetaine—AsB), 3.97 μg/l (dimethylarsinic acid—DMA), 0.44 μg/l (monomethylarsonic acid—MMA) and 0.35 μg/l (i-As). Statistically significant differences were found in urinary AsB, MMA and i-As according to the study regions in the 4-year-old, and also in DMA among pregnant women and their children. Spearman’s correlation coefficient among urinary arsenic metabolites was calculated, and, in general, a strong methylation capacity to methylate i-As to MMA was observed.

中文翻译：

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西班牙儿童和孕妇尿砷形态。


无机砷 (i-As) 是一种非阈值人类致癌物，与多种不良健康结果相关。孕妇、婴儿和儿童的 i-As 暴露尤其令人担忧，因为他们特别容易受到 i-As 的不良健康影响，并且在子宫内和生命早期接触 i-As，甚至是低至中等水平的 i-As ，可能在整个生命周期中产生显着的影响。使用离子色谱-质谱检测 (IC-ICP-MS) 分析生活在西班牙不同地区（包括阿斯图里亚斯）砷暴露水平相对较低的 4 岁儿童样本中的尿砷形态，作为暴露生物标志物、吉普斯夸、萨瓦德尔和巴伦西亚。还对怀孕期间（妊娠早期）和来自巴伦西亚的 7 岁儿童采集的样本进行了尿液中砷代谢物的测定。 4岁儿童体内主要砷形态的中位值分别为9.71微克/升（砷甜菜碱——AsB）、3.97微克/升（二甲基胂酸——DMA）、0.44微克/升（一甲基胂酸——MMA）和0.35微克/升。微克/升（i-As）。根据研究区域，4 岁儿童的尿 AsB、MMA 和 i-As 以及孕妇及其孩子的 DMA 均存在统计学显着差异。计算了尿砷代谢物之间的Spearman相关系数，并且总体上观察到将i-As甲基化为MMA的强甲基化能力。