Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2024.63.01.7

Exposure to arsenic in drinking water and risk of bladder cancer

Marijana Srećković ; Šabac Academy of Professional Studies, Department of Medical and Business-Technological Studies, Šabac, Serbia; Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Dušan Backović ; Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Tihomir Dugandžija ; Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia; Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia
Igor Dragičević ; Šabac Public Health Institute, Šabac, Serbia
Ljubica Pajić Nikolić ; Šabac Academy of Professional Studies, Department of Medical and Business-Technological Studies, Šabac, Serbia
Maida Mulić ; Medical Faculty, University of Tuzla, Department of Social Medicine, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Public Health Institute of Tuzla Canton, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bojan Damnjanović ; Šabac Academy of Professional Studies, Department of Medical and Business-Technological Studies, Šabac, Serbia *

* Corresponding author.

Abstract

The municipality of Bogatić, part of Mačva District, belongs to the Pannonian
Basin, where high concentrations of arsenic in artesian wells were detected. Numerous epidemiological
studies have confirmed the association of exposure to arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer
(C67). Th is retrospective ten-year analysis included age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) and
age-specific incidence rates of C67 in the municipality of Bogatić and rural municipalities of Mačva
District. The concentration of arsenic in drinking water was determined at Šabac Public Health
Institute (PHI) laboratories in 2015. ASRs were estimated using data from regional cancer registries
at Šabac PHI and compared by use of the Mann-Whitney U test. Control population was recruited
from an area where there were no artesian wells or hydrogeological conditions that would indicate
elevated concentrations of arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic levels in all artesian wells in Bogatić
municipality were 1.4 to 41 times higher than the maximum permissible concentration (mean 120
μg/L±165). Female subjects from Bogatić municipality had higher ASRs of C67 compared with the
populations in rural municipalities of Mačva District (p<0.01), while the incidence of bladder cancer
was by 13% greater than that in central Serbia (standardized incidence ratio, 113; 95% CI 96.97-
131.35). Male subjects from Bogatić municipality had higher ASRs of C67 but the difference was not
statistically significant (p>0.05). Our analyses suggested that exposure to arsenic in drinking water
could triple the risk of bladder cancer. These results support the conclusions of previous studies that
there may be an association between higher concentrations of arsenic in drinking water and higher
ASRs of bladder cancer in both male and female subjects.

Keywords

Mačva District; Arsenic; Bladder cancer; Artesian wells; Ten-year analysis

Hrčak ID:

322026

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/322026

Publication date:

1.4.2024.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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