New research reveals that even minimal exposure to arsenic can lead to serious health problems, including an elevated risk of kidney cancer.
Recent studies from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health show that even low levels of arsenic can pose considerable health dangers, particularly increasing the risk of kidney cancer.
From 2011 to 2019, the rate of kidney cancer in the United States increased annually by an average of 1.2 percent, making it the seventh most prevalent form of cancer. Meanwhile, smoking—a known risk factor for kidney cancer—has been on the decline.
This trend prompted researchers to look into other potential causes, such as arsenic, which naturally exists in groundwater in Texas and other regions and is known to contribute to various cancers. Unlike prior research, the Texas A&M study concentrated on low levels of arsenic exposure (below the regulatory limit of 10 parts per billion) found in both public water systems, which are regulated, and private wells, which are not.
“Some public water systems are poorly managed and could expose customers to arsenic, but the 40 million individuals in the United States using private wells are especially at risk,” stated Taehyun Roh from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Additional contributors to the study included Daikwon Han, Xiaohui Xu, and former doctoral student Nishat Tasnim Hasan from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, along with Garett Sansom from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. The research received funding from the Houston Methodist Research Institute, the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The outcomes of their research, published in Environmental Pollution, investigated the link between kidney cancer rates and arsenic levels in drinking water across 240 counties in Texas. The team analyzed cancer statistics from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results involving 28,896 cases among Texas adults aged 20 and above, as well as water quality data from the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Water Development Board.
They employed a statistical model that considered geographic location and adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic factors, as well as other cancer risk factors such as obesity, smoking, and diabetes. Further adjustments accounted for pesticide density, social vulnerability, income levels, rurality, cardiovascular disease hospitalization rates, and chronic kidney disease prevalence.
The results indicated that exposure levels ranging from 1 to 5 parts per billion led to a 6 percent increase in kidney cancer risk, while levels exceeding 5 parts per billion raised the risk by 22 percent. Additionally, the risk of cancer increased by 4 percent with every doubling of arsenic levels in water.
“This indicates that even low-level arsenic exposure in drinking water may be linked to a heightened risk of kidney cancer, supporting prior studies that have identified similar associations with lung, bladder, and skin cancers,” Roh explained.
Hasan emphasized that while their study can show associations between factors, it does not establish causation. She recommended that future research should focus on individual-level and biometric data rather than simply county-level statistics to better assess how factors like lifestyle choices, family history of kidney cancer, and other potential sources of arsenic exposure impact health.
“Nonetheless, our findings suggest that minimizing arsenic exposure could lead to a decrease in kidney cancer cases, achievable through improved regulatory oversight and focused public health initiatives,” Hasan concluded.
