Arsenic Linked To Early Puberty

New findings published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives reveals that female mice exposed in utero, or in the womb to low levels of arsenic via drinking water, showed signs of reaching puberty early, which increased their risk of obesity as adults.

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Health note how the findings are particularly significant as exposure levels of 10 parts per billion in the study is the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard or maximum allowable amount for arsenic in drinking water.

In this recent study, the researchers divided pregnant mice into three groups. While the control group received no arsenic in its drinking water, while the two experimental groups received either the EPA standard of 10 parts per billion of arsenic or 42.5 parts per million of arsenic, a level known to have detrimental effects in mice.

During gestation, the mice were exposed between 10 days following fertilization and birth, which corresponds to the middle of the first trimester and birth in humans, according to researchers.

"We unexpectedly found that exposure to arsenic before birth had a profound effect on onset of puberty and incidence of obesity later in life," said NIEHS reproductive biologist and co-author Humphrey Yao, Ph.D., in a news release. "Although these mice were exposed to arsenic only during fetal life, the impacts lingered through adulthood."

While the biological process responsible for these effects still remains unknown, the study highlights the need to continue researching long-term impacts of what mothers drink, eat and even breathe during pregnancy for the welfare of their offspring. Researchers also noted that while male mice were not examined during the study, they did confirm that arsenic exposure for male mice in utero caused them to gain weight as they aged.

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