Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31259079›Full record

ArticleJournal of health & pollution2019

Environmental and Health Implications of the Correlation Between Arsenic and Zinc Levels in Rice from an Arsenic-Rich Zone in Cambodia.

Tom Murphy, Kim Irvine, Kongkea Phan, David Lean, Ken Wilson

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of health & pollution, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 28% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Role of Micronutrients and Toxic Metals in the Management of Epidemics in Cambodia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Review
  3. Article
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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Tom MurphyInternational University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Kim IrvineNanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Kongkea PhanInternational University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
David LeanLean Environmental, Apsley, Ontario, Canada.
Ken WilsonTexas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA.
Phnom Penh International University · KHNanyang Technological University · SGTexas State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn parts of Cambodia, irrigation of rice with groundwater results in arsenic accumulation in soils and rice, leading to health concerns associated with rice consumption. In Bangladesh and China, low zinc levels in rice have been found in regions where arsenic levels in rice are high. Furthermore, there have been claims that zinc deficiency is responsible for stunting of children in Cambodia. There are limited data on zinc in Cambodian rice, but in rural Asia, rice is the major source of zinc.

objectivesTo provide a preliminary evaluation of the zinc content in rice grain in Preak Russey, an area with elevated levels of arsenic. The importance of zinc in rice for infants was also assessed.

methodsRice cultivation was evaluated in sixty farms along the Mekong River in Cambodia. Analyses for metals, total arsenic, and arsenic species in the water and rice were conducted at the University of Ottawa, Canada by inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry. Analysis of total zinc and arsenic in soils were analyzed in Phnom Penh using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). Total zinc in rice was also measured by XRF analysis.

resultsRice in the Preak Russey area contained zinc with ½ to ¼ of the 1987 Codex standard for rice in Infant Formula. Moreover, our average zinc concentration in rice samples was less than a third that recommended for zinc fortification in rice by the United Nations World Food Programme. There was a significant (α=0.05) negative correlation between the arsenic and zinc content of rice with the lowest zinc levels occurring near the irrigation wells, the source of arsenic. There was a significantly higher content of zinc in rice from farms that fertilized with cow manure.

conclusionsHandheld XRF spectrometers are useful tools for detection of zinc levels in rice. The potential for zinc deficiency in farmers in areas of Cambodia with arsenic toxicity is high. COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Indexed as

arsenicCambodiadrainagefertilizationirrigationriceXRFzinc

Identifiers

PMID31259079
PMCPMC6555249
OpenAlexW2946670022

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.