Assessment of relationship on excess arsenic intake from drinking water and cognitive impairment in adults and elders in arsenicosis areas

In this study, the relationships between high water arsenic exposure and cognitive impairment were investigated. A total of 483 residents aged 40 or older were randomly recruited and were divided into four groups according to the concentrations of arsenic in their water. Consumption levels (̄x¯ ± sd) of drinking water arsenic for normal, mild, moderate, and high exposure groups were 4 ± 2 μg/L, 25 ± 11 μg/L, 73 ± 15 μg/L, and 183 ± 88 μg/L, respectively. The average scores (̄x¯ ± sd) of the Chinese version Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for females in each group were 21.49 ± 3.14, 19.04 ± 5.87, 16.18 ± 8.14, and 15.82 ± 7.78, and the average scores (̄x¯ ± sd) for males were 24.50 ± 3.97, 23.16 ± 4.45, 21.00 ± 6.57, and 18.92 ± 7.99, respectively. Significant differences among the average scores of MMSE for males or females in the four groups were found (p < 0.05). The prevalence of cognitive impairment for females in each group was 10.86%, 29.63%, 53.48%, and 55.29%, and the prevalence of cognitive impairment for males was 10.71%, 12.00%, 35.71%, and 50.89%, respectively. Significant differences between all groups were observed (p < 0.05). In the multivariable regress model, high water was closely associated with the MMSE score (Standardized Coefficient = −0.021) and cognitive impairment (arsenic ˃100 μg/L PR4/1 = 4.01). The findings of our research suggested a significant positive relationship between arsenic exposure from drinking water and cognitive impairment.