Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41534586›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental research2026

Drinking water arsenic, urinary arsenic biomarkers, and cognitive impairment in the REGARDS study.

Meghan Angley, Yijia Zhang, Anne E Nigra, Melissa A Lombard, Matthew O Gribble, Liping Lu, Frederick W Unverzagt, Leslie A McClure, Suzanne E Judd, Mary Cushman and 2 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Environmental research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors.

Meghan AngleyDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Yijia ZhangDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Anne E NigraU.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, Pembroke, NH, USA.
Melissa A LombardDepartment of Medicine, Division of Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Matthew O GribbleDepartment of Nutrition and Health Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.
Liping LuDepartment of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Frederick W UnverzagtCollege for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Leslie A McClureDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Suzanne E JuddDepartment of Medicine, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
Mary CushmanDepartment of Chemistry and University of Missouri Research Reactor, University of Missouri, Columbia, MI, USA.
John BrockmanDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Ka KaheDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: kk3399@cumc.columbia.edu.

Funding

VCID and Stroke in a Bi-racial National CohortU01NS041588 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI CUSHMAN, MARY, HOWARD, GEORGE · 2002 to 2022
$96.0M
Trace mineral levels, the trajectory of cognitive decline and telomere attritionRF1AG056111 · NIA · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · PI KAHE, KA · 2017 to 2017
$3.1M
Public Drinking Water Contaminants and Infant Health: Advancing Environmental JusticeDP5OD031849 · OD · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI NIGRA, ANNE E · 2021 to 2025
$2.0M
NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG056111NIH HHS DP5 OD031849NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS041588
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere are several pathways by which inorganic arsenic (iAs) exposure can affect cognition among adults. Few epidemiologic studies evaluate iAs in water and inter-individual differences in urinary arsenic toxicokinetics. We aimed to estimate the association between individual-level urinary arsenic biomarkers, county-level iAs in drinking water, and cognitive impairment in a cohort of Black and White Americans.

methodsWe evaluated the association between county-level iAs in water and urinary iAs metabolites with incident cognitive impairment in REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS). Participants were linked to county-level concentrations of arsenic in public water (n = 15,516) and county-level probabilities of private well arsenic exceeding 10 μg/L (n = 20,448). In addition, urinary concentrations of iAs, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were measured in a subset of participants (n = 1,013). Cognitive impairment was determined by the Six Item Screener (SIS) and the Enhanced Cognitive Battery (ECB). We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios.

resultsApproximately 9 % of participants in REGARDS developed incident cognitive impairment on the SIS over 10 years of follow-up. County-level public water iAs concentrations and private well iAs probabilities were not associated with increased odds of cognitive impairment. Higher concentrations of MMA (OR: 1.74 [95 % CI: 1.22, 2.49]) and iAs (OR: 1.58 [95 % CI: 1.12, 2.22]) in urine were associated with greater odds of cognitive impairment on the SIS. Results for the ECB were similar.

conclusionsiAs exposure may be associated with cognitive impairment. Our findings highlight the importance of considering multiple measures of iAs exposure.

Indexed as

ArsenicDrinking WaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalAgedBiomarkersFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedArsenicBiomarkersDrinking WaterWater Pollutants, Chemical

Identifiers

PMID41534586
PMCPMC13543078

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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.