Arsenic has firm link to diabetes in U.S. study

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Arsenic, a naturally occurring poison and carcinogen found in ground water, is strongly linked to adult-onset diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Odorless, tasteless, colorless and easily soluble in water or wine, arsenic has long been a feared poison. A heavy dose is detectable in a corpse, but researchers say small amounts of arsenic may sicken people gradually.

Dr. Ana Navas-Acien and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found a "relatively strong" association between commonly found levels of arsenic in urine and type 2 diabetes in a study of American adults.

"It seems there is may be no safe level of arsenic," Navas-Acien said in a telephone interview.

"Worldwide it's a huge problem," she said. "As water becomes a scarce resource, we need additional sources."

Arsenic raises the risk for cancers of the bladder, lung, kidney, skin and, possibly, the prostate, Navas-Acien said.

The 20 percent of nearly 800 study participants who had the most arsenic in their bodies, a tolerable 16.5 micrograms per liter of urine, had 3.6 times the risk of developing late-onset diabetes than those in the bottom 20 percent, who had 3 micrograms per liter.

Levels of arsenic were 26 percent higher in people with late-onset, or type 2, diabetes than those without the disease, the study found.