Dataset Information

Effect of an Arsenic Mitigation Program on Arsenic Exposure in American Indian Communities: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the Community-Led Strong Heart Water Study Program.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chronic arsenic exposure has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease; diabetes; cancers of the lung, pancreas and prostate; and all-cause mortality in American Indian communities in the Strong Heart Study.

Objective

The Strong Heart Water Study (SHWS) designed and evaluated a multilevel, community-led arsenic mitigation program to reduce arsenic exposure among private well users in partnership with Northern Great Plains American Indian Nations.

Methods

A cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the SHWS arsenic mitigation program over a 2-y period on a) urinary arsenic, and b) reported use of arsenic-safe water for drinking and cooking. The cRCT compared the installation of a point-of-use arsenic filter and a mobile Health (mHealth) program (3 phone calls; SHWS mHealth and Filter arm) to a more intensive program, which included this same program plus three home visits (3 phone calls and 3 home visits; SHWS Intensive arm).

Results

A 47% reduction in urinary arsenic [geometric mean (GM)=13.2 to 7.0μg/g creatinine] was observed from baseline to the final follow-up when both study arms were combined. By treatment arm, the reduction in urinary arsenic from baseline to the final follow-up visit was 55% in the mHealth and Filter arm (GM=14.6 to 6.55μg/g creatinine) and 30% in the Intensive arm (GM=11.2 to 7.82μg/g creatinine). There was no significant difference in urinary arsenic levels by treatment arm at the final follow-up visit comparing the Intensive vs. mHealth and Filter arms: GM ratio of 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 0.77, 1.90). In both arms combined, exclusive use of arsenic-safe water from baseline to the final follow-up visit significantly increased for water used for cooking (17% to 53%) and drinking (12% to 46%).

Discussion

Delivery of the interventions for the community-led SHWS arsenic mitigation program, including the installation of a point-of-use arsenic filter and a mHealth program on the use of arsenic-safe water (calls only, no home visits), resulted in a significant reduction in urinary arsenic and increases in reported use of arsenic-safe water for drinking and cooking during the 2-y study period. These results demonstrate that the installation of an arsenic filter and phone calls from a mHealth program presents a promising approach to reduce water arsenic exposure among private well users. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12548.

SUBMITTER: George CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10967367 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Effect of an Arsenic Mitigation Program on Arsenic Exposure in American Indian Communities: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the Community-Led Strong Heart Water Study Program.

George Christine Marie CM Zacher Tracy T Endres Kelly K Richards Francine F Bear Robe Lisa L Harvey David D Best Lyle G LG Red Cloud Reno R Black Bear Annabelle A Skinner Leslie L Cuny Christa C Rule Ana A Schwab Kellogg J KJ Gittelsohn Joel J Glabonjat Ronald Alexander RA Schilling Kathrin K O'Leary Marcia M Thomas Elizabeth D ED Umans Jason J Zhu Jianhui J Moulton Lawrence H LH Navas-Acien Ana A

Environmental health perspectives 20240327 3

<h4>Background</h4>Chronic arsenic exposure has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease; diabetes; cancers of the lung, pancreas and prostate; and all-cause mortality in American Indian communities in the Strong Heart Study.<h4>Objective</h4>The Strong Heart Water Study (SHWS) designed and evaluated a multilevel, community-led arsenic mitigation program to reduce arsenic exposure among private well users in partnership with Northern Great Plains American Indian Nations.< ...[more]

PMID: 38534131

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Project description:BackgroundThe objective of this study was to evaluate the behavioral determinants associated with exclusive use of arsenic-safe water in the community-led Strong Heart Water Study (SHWS) arsenic mitigation program.MethodsThe SHWS is a randomized controlled trial of a community-led arsenic mitigation program designed to reduce arsenic exposure among private well users in American Indian Great Plains communities. All households received point-of-use (POU) arsenic filters installed at baseline and were followed for 2 years. Behavioral determinants selected were those targeted during the development of the SHWS program, and were assessed at baseline and follow-up.ResultsAmong participants, exclusive use of arsenic-safe water for drinking and cooking at follow-up was associated with higher self-efficacy for accessing local resources to learn about arsenic (OR: 5.19, 95% CI: 1.48-18.21) and higher self-efficacy to resolve challenges related to arsenic in water using local resources (OR: 3.11, 95% CI: 1.11-8.71). Higher commitment to use the POU arsenic filter faucet at baseline was also a significant predictor of exclusive arsenic-safe water use for drinking (OR: 32.57, 95% CI: 1.42-746.70) and cooking (OR: 15.90, 95% CI: 1.33-189.52) at follow-up. From baseline to follow-up, the SHWS program significantly increased perceived vulnerability to arsenic exposure, self-efficacy, descriptive norms, and injunctive norms. Changing one's arsenic filter cartridge after installation was associated with higher self-efficacy to obtain arsenic-safe water for drinking (OR: 6.22, 95% CI: 1.33-29.07) and cooking (OR: 10.65, 95% CI: 2.48-45.68) and higher perceived vulnerability of personal health effects (OR: 7.79, 95% CI: 1.17-51.98) from drinking arsenic-unsafe water.ConclusionsThe community-led SHWS program conducted a theory-driven approach for intervention development and evaluation that allowed for behavioral determinants to be identified that were associated with the use of arsenic safe water and changing one's arsenic filter cartridge. These results demonstrate that theory-driven, context-specific formative research can influence behavior change interventions to reduce water arsenic exposure. The SHWS can serve as a model for the design of theory-driven intervention approaches that engage communities to reduce arsenic exposure.Trial registrationThe SHWS is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03725592).

Project description:Many rural populations, including American Indian communities, that use private wells from groundwater for their source of drinking and cooking water are disproportionately exposed to elevated levels of arsenic. However, programs aimed at reducing arsenic in American Indian communities are limited. The Strong Heart Water Study (SHWS) is a randomized controlled trial aimed at reducing arsenic exposure among private well users in American Indian Northern Great Plains communities. The community-led SHWS program installed point-of-use (POU) arsenic filters in the kitchen sink of households, and health promoters delivered arsenic health communication programs. In this study we evaluated the efficacy of these POU arsenic filters in removing arsenic during the two-year installation period. Participants were randomized into two arms. In the first arm households received a POU arsenic filter, and 3 calls promoting filter use (SHWS mobile health (mHealth) & filter arm). The second arm received the same filter and phone calls, and 3 in-person home visits and 3 Facebook messages (SHWS intensive arm) for program delivery. Temporal variability in water arsenic concentrations from the main kitchen faucet was also evaluated. A total of 283 water samples were collected from 50 households with private wells from groundwater (139 filter and 144 kitchen faucet samples). Ninety-three percent of households followed after baseline had filter faucet water arsenic concentrations below the arsenic maximum contaminant level of 10 μg/L at the final visit during our 2 year study period with no difference between study arms (98 % in the intensive arm vs. 94 % in the mHealth & filter arm). No significant temporal variation in kitchen arsenic concentration was observed over the study period (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99). This study demonstrates that POU arsenic filters installed for the community participatory SHWS program were effective in reducing water arsenic concentration in study households in both arms, even with delivery of the POU arsenic filter and mHealth program only. Furthermore, we observed limited temporal variability of water arsenic concentrations from kitchen faucet samples collected over time from private wells in our study setting.

Project description:Metabolism of inorganic arsenic (iAs) is subject to inter-individual variability, which is explained partly by genetic determinants.We investigated the association of genetic variants with arsenic species and principal components of arsenic species in the Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS).We examined variants previously associated with cardiometabolic traits (~ 200,000 from Illumina Cardio MetaboChip) or arsenic metabolism and toxicity (670) among 2,428 American Indian participants in the SHFS. Urine arsenic species were measured by high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS), and percent arsenic species [iAs, monomethylarsonate (MMA), and dimethylarsinate (DMA), divided by their sum × 100] were logit transformed. We created two orthogonal principal components that summarized iAs, MMA, and DMA and were also phenotypes for genetic analyses. Linear regression was performed for each phenotype, dependent on allele dosage of the variant. Models accounted for familial relatedness and were adjusted for age, sex, total arsenic levels, and population stratification. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations were stratified by study site and were meta-analyzed. Bonferroni correction was used to account for multiple testing.Variants at 10q24 were statistically significant for all percent arsenic species and principal components of arsenic species. The index SNP for iAs%, MMA%, and DMA% (rs12768205) and for the principal components (rs3740394, rs3740393) were located near AS3MT, whose gene product catalyzes methylation of iAs to MMA and DMA. Among the candidate arsenic variant associations, functional SNPs in AS3MT and 10q24 were most significant (p < 9.33 × 10-5).This hypothesis-driven association study supports the role of common variants in arsenic metabolism, particularly AS3MT and 10q24. Citation: Balakrishnan P, Vaidya D, Franceschini N, Voruganti VS, Gribble MO, Haack K, Laston S, Umans JG, Francesconi KA, Goessler W, North KE, Lee E, Yracheta J, Best LG, MacCluer JW, Kent J Jr., Cole SA, Navas-Acien A. 2017. Association of cardiometabolic genes with arsenic metabolism biomarkers in American Indian communities: the Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS). Environ Health Perspect 125:15-22;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP251.

Project description:Rationale: Exposure to inorganic arsenic, through drinking naturally-contaminated water, is an established cause of lung cancer. Evidence on the impact of arsenic exposure on lung function, however, is less conclusive. The evidence available, mostly from populations exposed to water arsenic levels >100 ?g/L, suggests that arsenic exposure is associated with lower lung function. Prospective studies and studies examining low-to-moderate levels of water arsenic exposure (<50 ?g/L) the level relevant for U.S. populations, are very limited. Objectives: We evaluated the association between chronic low-to-moderate arsenic exposure with lung function and disease in an American Indian population. Methods: The Strong Heart Study is a multicenter prospective study of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors among American Indian adults. The present analysis, in 2,166 adults, used urinary arsenic measurements at baseline (1989–1991) and lung symptoms and function assessment by standardized spirometry at the second examination (1993–1995). We evaluated associations between arsenic exposure and airflow obstruction, defined as ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) of less than 0.70, and restrictive pattern, defined as FEV1/FVC ratio greater than 0.70 and FVC less than 80% predicted; respiratory symptoms; and self-reported physician diagnosis of nonmalignant respiratory disease. Results: The prevalence of airflow obstruction between 1993 and 1995 was 21.4% (463/2,166); restrictive pattern was 14.5% (314/2,166). Median urinary arsenic concentrations were higher in participants with airflow obstruction (11.0 ?g/g creatinine) compared to those without obstruction (9.8 ?g/g creatinine), and higher in those with restrictive pattern (12.0 ?g/g) compared to those without restrictive pattern (9.4 ?g/g). The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for obstructive and restrictive patterns comparing the 75th to 25th percentile of arsenic was 1.13 (0.96–1.32) and 1.27 (1.01–1.60), respectively, after adjustment for age, sex, education, study site, smoking status, smoking pack-year, estimated glomerular filtration rate, tuberculosis, and body mass index. Emphysema, cough 4–6 times a day, phlegm, and stopping for breath were also positively associated with arsenic. Conclusions: In this American Indian population, exposure to low-to-moderate levels of inorganic arsenic, as measured in urine, was positively associated with restrictive pattern as measured by spirometry, self-reported emphysema diagnosis, self-reported shortness of breath, and more frequent cough and phlegm among those with cough, independent of smoking status. These findings suggest that low-to-moderate arsenic exposure can contribute to nonmalignant lung disease, and may be associated with restrictive lung disease.

Project description:BackgroundFine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure is a known risk factor for numerous adverse health outcomes, with varying estimates of component-specific effects. Populations with compromised health conditions such as diabetes can be more sensitive to the health impacts of air pollution exposure. Recent trends in PM2.5 in primarily American Indian- (AI-) populated areas examined in previous work declined more gradually compared to the declines observed in the rest of the US. To further investigate components contributing to these findings, we compared trends in concentrations of six PM2.5 components in AI- vs. non-AI-populated counties over time (2000-2017) in the contiguous US.MethodsWe implemented component-specific linear mixed models to estimate differences in annual county-level concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, organic matter, black carbon, and mineral dust from well-validated surface PM2.5 models in AI- vs. non-AI-populated counties, using a multi-criteria approach to classify counties as AI- or non-AI-populated. Models adjusted for population density and median household income. We included interaction terms with calendar year to estimate whether concentration differences in AI- vs. non-AI-populated counties varied over time.ResultsOur final analysis included 3108 counties, with 199 (6.4%) classified as AI-populated. On average across the study period, adjusted concentrations of all six PM2.5 components in AI-populated counties were significantly lower than in non-AI-populated counties. However, component-specific levels in AI- vs. non-AI-populated counties varied over time: sulfate and ammonium levels were significantly lower in AI- vs. non-AI-populated counties before 2011 but higher after 2011 and nitrate levels were consistently lower in AI-populated counties.ConclusionsThis study indicates time trend differences of specific components by AI-populated county type. Notably, decreases in sulfate and ammonium may contribute to steeper declines in total PM2.5 in non-AI vs. AI-populated counties. These findings provide potential directives for additional monitoring and regulations of key emissions sources impacting tribal lands.

Dataset Information

Effect of an Arsenic Mitigation Program on Arsenic Exposure in American Indian Communities: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the Community-Led Strong Heart Water Study Program.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Effect of an Arsenic Mitigation Program on Arsenic Exposure in American Indian Communities: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the Community-Led Strong Heart Water Study Program.

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