Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29975704›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Arsenic level in toenails is associated with hearing loss in humans.

Xiang Li, Nobutaka Ohgami, Ichiro Yajima, Huadong Xu, Machiko Iida, Reina Oshino, Hiromasa Ninomiya, Dandan Shen, Nazmul Ahsan, Anwarul Azim Akhand and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2024
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Xiang LiDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Nobutaka OhgamiDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Ichiro YajimaDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Huadong XuDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Machiko IidaDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Reina OshinoDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Hiromasa NinomiyaDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Dandan ShenDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Nazmul AhsanVoluntary Body for International Health Care in Universities, Nagoya, Japan.
Anwarul Azim AkhandVoluntary Body for International Health Care in Universities, Nagoya, Japan.
Masashi KatoDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-2555-9751
Nagoya University · JPUniversity of Dhaka · BD

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Arsenic (As) pollution in drinking water is a worldwide health risk for humans. We previously showed hearing loss in young people who live in areas of As-polluted drinking water and in young mice orally treated with As. In this study, we epidemiologically examined associations between As levels in toenails and hearing in 145 Bangladeshi aged 12-55 years in 2014. Levels of As in toenails, but not those in urine, were shown to be significantly correlated with hearing loss at 4 kHz [odds ratio (OR) = 4.27; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.51, 12.05], 8 kHz (OR = 3.91; 95% CI: 1.47, 10.38) and 12 kHz (OR = 4.15; 95% CI: 1.55, 11.09) by multivariate analysis with adjustments for age, sex, smoking and BMI. Our experimental study further showed a significant association between As levels in inner ears and nails (r = 0.8113, p = 0.0014) in mice orally exposed to As, suggesting that As level in nails is a suitable index to assess As level in inner ears. Taken together, the results of our study suggest that As level in nails could be a convenient and non-invasive biomarker for As-mediated hearing loss in humans.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAnimalsArsenicBangladeshChildDrinking WaterEar, InnerEnvironmental ExposureFemaleHearing LossHumansMaleMiceMiddle AgedMultivariate AnalysisArsenicDrinking WaterWater Pollutants, Chemical

Identifiers

PMID29975704
PMCPMC6033376
OpenAlexW2851955863

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.