Health Effect of Arsenic Exposure: Clinical Features and Epidemiology in Ron Phibun District, Nakhon Si Thammarat
Keywords:
Arsenic, Arsenicosis, Chronic Arsenic Poisoning, Ronpibun HospitalAbstract
The study determined the various clinical signs and symptoms of health effect associated with arsenic exposure and also the prevalence rate in Ron Phibun district, Nakhon Si Thammarat during July 2005 and June 2006. This cross - sectional survey involving 6,167 participants of all ages was conducted in village 2, 12 and 13 Ron phibun Subdistric, Ron phibun District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, where tin-mining had been undertaken for about a century and leaving arsenic contamination in well-water of more than 0.2 mg./L. Each participant was asked about water use in drinking and cooking, past history of major illness and clinical examinations were carried out taking special care to detect abnormal skin lesions. Of 6,167 participants, 2,344 people had exposed. In the exposed population, 23.5% showed at least one of the cutaneous signs of chronic arsenic poisoning. The most common cutaneous signs were palm and sole keratosis. Rain-drop pigmentation was the most common abnormal pigmentation. The prevalence of skin cancer in the exposed population was 1.88%.
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