Cancer incidence and pattern of arsenic concentration in drinking water wells in Córdoba, Argentina: an ecological study.International Biometric Conference..

ABALLAY, LR; DÍAZ, MP; FRANCISCA, FM; MUÑOZ, SE

Florianópolis

Conferencia; 5th International Conference Biometric Conference Brasil; 2010

International Biometric Society.

Background.  In Argentina, cancer is the second cause of death. The occurrence of this disease has been widely associated to diet, with different risk factors according the tumor site. Drinking water is a principal dietary component. Water quality is then, of main importance for healthcare. In Argentina, high content of As in underground water is widely known, although there is not sufficient evidence yet if there is an association between the pattern of cancer age standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) and As distribution in ground-water supplies. The aim of this work is to assess if the incidence pattern of the most incident types of cancers, could be in part attributed to the presence of arsenic in groundwater wells of the three hydro-geological regions (aquifers) present in Córdoba province. Methods Cancer 2004 incidence data were compiled from the Córdoba Cancer Registry (CCR). As concentrations data were collected from official reports of 518 monitoring wells. For each cancer site and gender, a multilevel random intercept Poisson model was applied to examine the relationship of cancer incidence to As groundwater concentration at the aquifer and district levels.  Results Total cancer ASIRs by aquifers and gender were 191.01 and 249.22 for the Riojan plain; 215.03 and 225.37 for the Pampean mountains; and 239.42 and 188.93 for the Chaco-Pampean plain in male and female, respectively. A significant promoting effect for arsenic was observed for lung and bladder cancers for both genders, and in female colon cancer. Bladder cancer was almost thirteen times higher for each increase of one mg/l of As exposure in both genders. In female colon cancer, exposure to As increased the rate twelve times. Female breast cancer had no association with As. Conclusions This is the first work relating the population-based incidence data of the most incident cancer sites in Córdoba, with As exposure using the whole provincial data of As underground water wells content controlling for aquifers’ unobserved heterogeneity. An overlapping pattern of higher As content and higher risks were evident for lung, bladder and female colon cancers.