Study on urinary arsenic metabolites of population with different concentrations of arsenic in drinking water in Inner Mongolia

  Objective   To test arsenic species in urine of people drinking hig h arsenic water in Inner Mongolia, and to investigate the characteristics of arsenic metabolism of different populations.

  Methods   Arsenic species in urine were detected with hydride generation atomic absor ption spectroscopy.

  Results   Urinary concentrations of arsenic species and TAs were much higher in the two exposed groups; No sex differences in urinary among concentrations or relative ratios of arsenic species were found, while children had sig nificant increase of DMA/MMA and DMA%, but decrease of MMA% compared with adults, exposed to the same level of arsenic.Significant increases in the values of iAs% and MMA%, accompanied by decreases of MMA/iAs, DMA/MMA, DMA/iAs and DMA% were observed in the two exposed groups; Children in higher exposed group had higher DMA/MMA, DMA/iAs, DMA% and lower iAs%, MMA% values than lower exposed group.

  Conclusion   Male and female differences were not discernible in both high-or low-ex posure group.The 2nd reaction of the metabolic pathway was more active inadults than that of children.