Project 1: Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study

Project 1- Summary/Abstract Nearly 200 million people in the world, including ~57 million in Bangladesh and ~17 million in the United States (US), are chronically exposed to inorganic arsenic (As). As part of the Columbia University SRP, we established the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS)?a large prospective cohort study based on individual-level data among a population exposed to a wide range of inorganic As from drinking water in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Over the past 15 years, using a population-based sampling frame, we recruited 35,050 men and women (with >95% response rates) and collected detailed questionnaires, clinical data, and biospecimen samples at baseline recruitment as well as every two years subsequently. Approximately 73% of participants are exposed to water As at low-to-moderate doses (