Examining the effect of inorganic arsenic exposure on lean mass using the national health and nutrition survey

Objective: Chronic inorganic arsenic exposure and loss of muscle mass are both public health problems affecting millions of individuals in the US. This study aims to explore the relationship between the two. Methods: The association between inorganic arsenic exposure and appendicular lean mass (ALM) was assessed via the 2005-2006 NHANES data on 1007 adults. Arsenic exposure was assessed via urinary laboratory measurements. ALM was measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). All models were adjusted for participant age, race/ethnicity, height, and gender. Results: We conducted a comparison between the quartiles of arsenic exposure. No significant association was found in non-adjusted analyses or after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, height, and gender. However, there after additionally adding creatinine to the model there was a marginal significant difference in ALM between the lowest and highest quartiles of arsenic exposure (p=0.0539). Conclusions: The association between inorganic arsenic exposure and ALM seem to be greatly affected by inclusion of a creatinine. While no statistically significant results were achieved, there are interesting trends that invite further exploration