Evaluation of chronic arsenic poisoning due to consumption of contaminated ground water in West Bengal,India

Background: chronic arsenic poisoning is an important public health problem and most notable in west bengal and bangladesh. in this study different systemic manifestations in chronic arsenic poisoning were evaluated. methods: a nonrandomized,controlled,cross-sectional,observational study was carried out in arsenic clinic,institute of postgraduate medical education and research,kolkata,west bengal,over a period of 1 year 4 months. seventy-three cases diagnosed clinically,consuming water containing arsenic �50 mg/l and having hair and nail arsenic level >0.6 mg/l,were included. special investigations included routine parameters and organ-specific tests. arsenic levels in the drinking water,hair,and nail were measured in all. twenty-five nonsmoker healthy controls were evaluated. results: murshidabad and districts adjacent to kolkata,west bengal,were mostly affected. middle-aged males were the common sufferers. skin involvement was the commonest manifestation (100%),followed by hepatomegaly [23 (31.5%)] with or without transaminitis [7 (9.58%)]/ portal hypertension [9 (12.33%)]. restrictive abnormality in spirometry [11 (15.06%)],bronchiectasis [4 (5.47%)],interstitial fibrosis [2 (2.73%)],bronchogenic carcinoma [2 (2.73%)],oromucosal plaque [7 (9.58%)],nail hypertrophy [10 (13.69%)],alopecia [8 (10.95%)],neuropathy [5 (6.84%)],and electrocardiography abnormalities [5 (6.84%)] were also observed. conclusions: mucocutaneous and nail lesions,hepatomegaly,and restrictive change in spirometry were the common and significant findings. other manifestations were characteristic but insignificant.