Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35349912›Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2022

Arsenic in private well water and birth outcomes in the United States.

Catherine M Bulka, Molly Scannell Bryan, Melissa A Lombard, Scott M Bartell, Daniel K Jones, Paul M Bradley, Veronica M Vieira, Debra T Silverman, Michael Focazio, Patricia L Toccalino and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environment international, 2022. 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
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2024
    Article
  8. 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

15 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.

Catherine M BulkaDepartment of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: cbulka@email.unc.edu.
Molly Scannell BryanInstitute for Minority Health Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1819 W. Polk Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Electronic address: scannemo@uic.edu.
Melissa A LombardU.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, 331 Commerce Way, Pembroke, NH 03275, USA. Electronic address: mlombard@usgs.gov.
Scott M BartellDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of California, 653 E. Peltason Drive, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Statistics, University of California, Bren Hall 2019, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. Electronic address: sbartell@uci.edu.
Daniel K JonesU.S. Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center, 2329 West Orton Circle, West Valley City, UT 84119, USA. Electronic address: dkjones@usgs.gov.
Paul M BradleyU.S. Geological Survey, South Atlantic Water Science Center, 720 Gracern Rd, Columbia, SC 29210, USA. Electronic address: pbradley@usgs.gov.
Veronica M VieiraDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of California, 653 E. Peltason Drive, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. Electronic address: vvieira@uci.edu.
Debra T SilvermanOccupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: silvermd@mail.nih.gov.
Michael FocazioU.S. Geological Survey, National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr, Reston, VA 20192, USA. Electronic address: mfocazio@usgs.gov.
Patricia L ToccalinoU.S. Geological Survey, Northwest-Pacific Region, 2130 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97201, USA. Electronic address: ptocca@usgs.gov.
Johnni DanielNational Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: bez2@cdc.gov.
Lorraine C BackerNational Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: lfb9@cdc.gov.
Joseph D AyotteU.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, 331 Commerce Way, Pembroke, NH 03275, USA. Electronic address: jayotte@usgs.gov.
Matthew O GribbleDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 217G Ryals Public Health Building, 1665 University Boulevard, Birmingham AL 35294, USA. Electronic address: mgribble@uab.edu.
Maria ArgosDivision of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1603 West Taylor Street, Office 878A, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Electronic address: argos@uic.edu.
United States Geological Survey · USUniversity of Illinois Chicago · USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · USNational Cancer Institute · USNational Center for Environmental Health · USNew England Water Science CenterUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham · USUniversity of California, Irvine · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USUtah Water Science Center

Funding

Cancer Risk and Environmental ExposuresZIACP010125 · NCI · DIVISION OF CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GENETICS · PI PURDUE, MARK · 2009 to 2025
$41.3M
Pilot Program CoreP30ES027792 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI Gokhan M. Mutlu, Gail S Prins · 2017 to 2026
$13.6M
Molecular and clinical endocrine impacts of arsenic exposure in childrenR01ES024423 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · PI ARGOS, MARIA · 2014 to 2018
$1.7M
NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES027792NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES024423
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrenatal exposure to drinking water with arsenic concentrations >50 μg/L is associated with adverse birth outcomes, with inconclusive evidence for concentrations ≤50 μg/L. In a collaborative effort by public health experts, hydrologists, and geologists, we used published machine learning model estimates to characterize arsenic concentrations in private wells-federally unregulated for drinking water contaminants-and evaluated associations with birth outcomes throughout the conterminous U.S.

methodsUsing several machine learning models, including boosted regression trees (BRT) and random forest classification (RFC), developed from measured groundwater arsenic concentrations of ∼20,000 private wells, we characterized the probability that arsenic concentrations occurred within specific ranges in groundwater. Probabilistic model estimates and private well usage data were linked by county to all live birth certificates from 2016 (n = 3.6 million). We evaluated associations with gestational age and term birth weight using mixed-effects models, adjusted for potential confounders and incorporated random intercepts for spatial clustering.

resultsWe generally observed inverse associations with term birth weight. For instance, when using BRT estimates, a 10-percentage point increase in the probability that private well arsenic concentrations exceeded 5 μg/L was associated with a -1.83 g (95% CI: -3.30, -0.38) lower term birth weight after adjusting for covariates. Similarly, a 10-percentage point increase in the probability that private well arsenic concentrations exceeded 10 μg/L was associated with a -2.79 g (95% CI: -4.99, -0.58) lower term birth weight. Associations with gestational age were null.

conclusionIn this largest epidemiologic study of arsenic and birth outcomes to date, we did not observe associations of modeled arsenic estimates in private wells with gestational age and found modest inverse associations with term birth weight. Study limitations may have obscured true associations, including measurement error stemming from a lack of individual-level information on primary water sources, water arsenic concentrations, and water consumption patterns.

Indexed as

ArsenicDrinking WaterGroundwaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalBirth WeightFemaleHumansPregnancyUnited StatesWater SupplyWater WellsArsenicDrinking WaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalArsenicBirth outcomesEpidemiologyPrivate wellsWater contamination

Identifiers

PMID35349912
PMCPMC9052362
OpenAlexW4220746919

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.