Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study

The Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), a multidisciplinary and large prospective cohort study in Araihazar, Bangladesh, was established to evaluate the effects of full-dose range arsenic (As) exposure on various health outcomes. We applied array-based genotyping technologies to baseline DNA samples from a subset of the HEALS study and linked those genotypes to data on arsenic species measured in urine. We used these data to identify regions influencing arsenic metabolism (AS3MT and FTCD). We also applied array-based DNA methylation technologies to baseline DNA samples from a subset of individuals from HEALS. These data were linked to data on arsenic concentration (in both urine and drinking water) to identify regions of the genome where DNA methylation is impacted by arsenic exposure. ]]>
HEALS used the following eligibility criteria: Married male or female Resident of the study area for at least 5 years Primarily drinking water from one of the 5966 study wells for at least 3 years The subsets of individuals with SNP and DNA methylation data provided were selected from HEALS randomly (from a subset of approximately 6000 participants with existing data on arsenic species).]]>
In 2000, researchers from Columbia University and Bangladesh established the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), a prospective cohort study of nearly 12,000 men and women in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to investigate the health effects of As exposure utilizing individual-level exposure assessment, with an initial focus on skin lesions and skin cancers and to establish a biorepository for future studies. HEALS been expanded several times of the past 25 years to including approximately 35,000 participants. Genotyping and DNA methylation assays for the data provided were carried out in 2018-2022. ]]>