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Letters to the Editor

Indian Pediatrics 2004; 41:960-961

Does Arsenic Consumption Influence the Age at Menarche of Woman


The people of nine districts of West Bengal surrounding 38,865-km2(1) are facing several problems due to the consumption of arsenic, as arsenic contaminated groundwater is being used for drinking purpose, agriculture, cooking of food and washing of utensils. It is established by several authors that constant exposure to arsenic is associated with cancer of skin, lungs, bones, kidneys, liver, bladder etc.(1,2). It also depletes body stores of iron, vitamin C and other essential nutrients leading to intrauterine growth retardation, decreased immune defenses and disabilities associated with malnutrition(3). Therefore, theoretically there arises a possibility that the use of arsenic poisoning water for a long time may affect the age at menarche (AGM) as it has a definite correlation with malnutrition. Therefore, the present communication attempts to deter-mine whether an association exists between arsenic and AGM.

The present sample consists of 385 females (15-20 years) out of which 175 girls are from arsenic affected area of Ashoke-nagar and Basirhat in the district of north 24-Parganas, West Bengal, where the tube- wells were marked by the government as containing arsenic-water above permissible dose (0.05 mg/liter). But the villagers are still using this water (for 10-12 years) due to lack of alternative water supplies. However, control data (210 girls) was collected from a non-arsenic area (Guma) of the same district, after matching some conditions (social status, monthly income, education, food habits, family size, living conditions and birth rank of the subject). Printed questionnaires were used to collect information. Statistical comparisons were carried out through the use of c2-test and student’s t-test.

Both affected and non-affected groups are from Bengali Hindu family, mostly engaged in agriculture having lower socio-economic strata and protein-poor diet. According to economic condition, each group was divided into three categories- high (>2000), medium (1000-2000) and low (<1000). 81.71% of affected and 77.62% of non-affected girls are illiterate and others are in school standards. The differences between two groups are non-significant with respect to both education (c2 = 0.982, df = 1, p >0.05) and economy (c2 = 0.403, df = 2, p >0.05). They are again identical with regards to family size (c2 = 1.803, df = 5, p >0.05). But the mean AGM of affected group was found to be later (14.04 ± 1.05) than the other group (13.28 ± 0.97), which is statistically significant (t = 7.32, df = 383, p <0.001). AGM of the former group also deviates from several earlier studies(4) on Bengali Hindu Women.

It is well established that though menarche is a normal physiological process, it is influenced by geographical, physical, pathological, psychological and sociological factors including education, occupation, nutrition and hygienic living condition(4,5). In the present study affected group attained menarche significantly later than the other, though both are enjoying all similar environ-mental conditions (like economy, education, family size, food habits, geography etc.) except the consumption of arsenic for long time, for which the females from affected area are suffering from several chronic diseases (as diagnosed by the doctors).

Thus though our data can not directly prove the influence of arsenic on AGM, it does not also reject the hypothesis of the association. As it is the first study of documenting this association, detailed evaluation with much more data over a wide area is, therefore, needed to accept or reject the hypothesis with certainty.

Mahua Sengupta,
Anthropology and Human Genetics Unit,
Indian Statistical Institute,
203, B. T. Road, Kolkata 700 108.
E-mail: [email protected]
 

References

1. Raman MM, Chowdhury UK, Mukherjee SC, Mondal BK, Paul K, Lodh D, et al., Chronic arsenic toxicity in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India–a review and commentary. J Clin Toxical 2001; 39: 683- 700.

2. Hoque BA, Mahmood AA, Quadiruzzaman M, Khan F, Ahmed SA, Shafique SA, et al. Recommendations for water supply in arsenic mitigation: a case study from Bangladesh. Public Health 2000; 114: 488- 494.

3. Iyengar GV, Nair PP. Global outlook on nutrition and the environment: meeting the challenges of the next millennium. Sci Total Environ 2000; 249: 331-346.

4. Sen T. Reproductive life of some Indian women. Man in India 1953; 40: 52- 55.

5. Greif EB, Ulman KJ. The psychological impact of menarche on early adolescent females: a review of the literature. Child Dev 1982; 53: 1413-1430.

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