Assessment of Oral Mucosal Status in Populations Exposed to Different Concentrations of Arsenic in Drinking Water
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rfo.v38n1e360759Keywords:
arsenic, drinking water, mouth mucosa, environmental exposureAbstract
Introduction: Arsenic (As) is a major public health concern due to its high toxicity and adverse effects on human health. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified it as a human carcinogen, based on evidence linking its ingestion through drinking water to skin and lung cancer. The objective of this study was to assess oral mucosa status in populations exposed to different concentrations of As in a district of Lambayeque, Peru. Methods: an observational, descriptive, non-experimental, comparative study was conducted. The sample consisted of 164 patients. The Oral Assessment Guide was used as the evaluation instrument. Data were analyzed using inferential statistics (chi-square test). Results: no significant association was found between oral mucosa status and As concentration (p = 0.054). In the group exposed to high concentrations of As, 3.7 % showed alterations in oral cavity structures and 9.8 % presented severe alterations. Conclusion: although no statistically significant association was found, the results show a trend toward statistical significance (p = 0.054), suggesting that As exposure may negatively affect oral mucosa health in populations exposed to high concentrations.
Downloads
References
Gutiérrez Jaime L, Reyna Salazar K, Cota Peimbert C, Sosa Ureña B, López Romero C, Torres Bugarín O. Repercusiones y riesgos de salud debidos a la exposición al arsénico. Med Int Méx. 2024; 40(6): 356-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24245/mim.v40iJulio.8839
Gamboa-Loira B, Cebrián ME, Franco-Marina F, López-Carillo L. Arsenic metabolism and cancer risk: a meta-analysis. Environ Res. 2017; 156: 551-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.04.016
Sanchez TR, Powers M, Perzanowski M, George CM, Graziano JH, Navas-Acien A. A meta-analysis of arsenic exposure and lung function: is there evidence of restrictive or obstructive lung disease? Curr Environ Health Rep. 2018; 5(2): 244-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-018-0192-1
Xu L, Mondal D, Polya DA. Positive Association of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) with chronic exposure to drinking water Arsenic (As) at concentrations below the WHO provisional guideline value: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(7): 2536. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072536
Pal P, Raychowdhury R, Dolai TK, Roy S, Dastidar R, Halder A. Study of arsenic exposure in oral/oropharyngeal carcinoma in West Bengal. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2017; 30(2): 271-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00806
Syed EH, Melkonian S, Poudel KC, Yasuoka J, Otsuka K, Ahmed A, et al. Arsenic exposure and oral cavity lesions in Bangladesh. J Occup Environ Med. 2013; 55(1): 59-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/jom.0b013e31826bb686
Litter M. Arsénico en agua. En: Agua + Humedales. Buenos Aires: UNSAM Edita; 2018. p 210 - 24. Disponible en https://ri.unsam.edu.ar/bitstream/123456789/911/1/PFAH%202018%20CLM.pdf
Larios Meoño F, Gonzáles Taranco C, Morales Olivares Y. Las aguas residuales y sus consecuencias en el Perú. Saber y Hacer. 2015; 2(2): 9-25.
Grupo de seguimiento de la gestión de riesgos de desastres y cambio climático. Situación actual sobre la contaminación de agua para consumo humano con arsénico en los distritos de Morrope, Pacora y otros - 2019. Perú: MCLCP. Disponible en https://www.mesadeconcertacion.org.pe/storage/documentos/2020-01-24/reporte-01-2019-sobre-contaminacion-de-agua-morrope-y-pacora-final.pdf
Signos de intoxicación en la cavidad oral [Internet]. Gonzalez L; 2021 [citado el 7 de octubre de 2025]. Club de Ciencias Forenses. Disponible en https://evidentiauniversity.com/blogs/es/clubforenses/signos-de-intoxicacion-en-la-cavidad-oral-club-de-ciencias-forenses/#:~:text=Las%20manifestaciones%2C%20tanto%20generales%20como,marrones%2C%20sufriendo%20sobretodo%20efectos%20corrosivos
Carrica V. Carcinomatosis múltiple de localización bucal en un paciente de zona de hidroarsenicismo crónico regional endémico (hacre). Rev Fac Cienc Méd Univ Nac Cordoba. 2006; 63(2): 20-4.
Oroviogoicoechea C, Carvajal A, Soteras MA, Beortegui E, de la Hera C, Aznárez MA. Validez y fiabilidad de la versión española de la guía de valoración oral (OAG) en pacientes con cáncer. Anales Sis San Navarra. 2015; 38(2): 225-33. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1137-66272015000200006
Leonardi N, Gilligan GM, Panico RL. Oral squamous cell carcinoma associated with arsenic exposure: a case series from Argentina. Int J Odontostomat. 2020; 14(4): 596-601. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-381X2020000400596
Adama Victorio RL, Arango Chumpitazi KS. Niveles de arsénico en humanos y agua de consumo humano en el Perú: una revisión sistemática [tesis de pregrado]. Lima: Universidad Científica del Sur; 2025. Disponible en https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12805/4050
López Palacios LM. Relación entre la exposición al arsénico por el agua de consumo y el estrés oxidativo en pobladores del distrito de Molinos - Jauja [tesis de pregrado]. Lima: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; 2024. Disponible en https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12672/16525
Manju R, Hegde AM, Keshan A. Environmental arsenic contamination and its effect on dental caries experience in school children. J Adv Oral Res. 2017; 8(1-2): 21-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2229411217729083
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Revista Facultad de Odontología Universidad de Antioquia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Copyright comprises moral and patrimonial rights.
1. Moral rights: are born at the moment of the creation of the work, without the need to register it. They belong to the author in a personal and unrelinquishable manner; also, they are imprescriptible, unalienable and non negotiable. Moral rights are the right to paternity of the work, the right to integrity of the work, the right to maintain the work unedited or to publish it under a pseudonym or anonymously, the right to modify the work, the right to repent and, the right to be mentioned, in accordance with the definitions established in article 40 of Intellectual property bylaws of the Universidad (RECTORAL RESOLUTION 21231 of 2005).
2. Patrimonial rights: they consist of the capacity of financially dispose and benefit from the work trough any mean. Also, the patrimonial rights are relinquishable, attachable, prescriptive, temporary and transmissible, and they are caused with the publication or divulgation of the work. To the effect of publication of articles in the journal Revista de la Facultad de Odontología, it is understood that Universidad de Antioquia is the owner of the patrimonial rights of the contents of the publication.
The content of the publications is the exclusive responsibility of the authors. Neither the printing press, nor the editors, nor the Editorial Board will be responsible for the use of the information contained in the articles.
I, we, the author(s), and through me (us), the Entity for which I, am (are) working, hereby transfer in a total and definitive manner and without any limitation, to the Revista Facultad de Odontología Universidad de Antioquia, the patrimonial rights corresponding to the article presented for physical and digital publication. I also declare that neither this article, nor part of it has been published in another journal.
Open Access Policy
The articles published in our Journal are fully open access, as we consider that providing the public with free access to research contributes to a greater global exchange of knowledge.
Creative Commons License
The Journal offers its content to third parties without any kind of economic compensation or embargo on the articles. Articles are published under the terms of a Creative Commons license, known as Attribution – NonCommercial – Share Alike (BY-NC-SA), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited and that the new productions are licensed under the same conditions.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
