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Environmental Research

Arsenic metabolism linked to muscle size and fat in adults

A 5% increase in the urinary share of one substance formed from arsenic was linked to 1.62 square centimeters less abdominal muscle area.

Paper by Zachary J. Clemens, Heng Bai, Ronald Alexander Glabonjat, +9 more authorsIva Miljkovic
Figure 1 from Environmental Research
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Figure 1. Clemens et al.

Our read

Populations
Studied:
Cross-sectional study of 1,597 middle-aged and older US adults
What changed:
Abdominal muscle area was lower in adults with a higher urinary share of monomethylarsonate, an arsenic metabolite
The catch:
Muscle fat was inferred from muscle density, a proxy rather than a direct measurement

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper
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In 1,597 US adults aged 44–84, an observational analysis linked how the body processed arsenic to abdominal muscle size and fat content. Participants belonged to the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis; 49% were female and 60% were non-white. Researchers compared urinary forms of arsenic with abdominal computed tomography scans, which measured muscle area and density. Lower density indicated more fat within muscle.

A higher urinary share of monomethylarsonate, a substance formed as the body processes arsenic, was associated with less muscle area after adjustment for other factors. A doubling of an index indicating incomplete arsenic metabolism was associated with 1.95 square centimeters less muscle area and lower muscle density. The monomethylarsonate share remained associated with lower muscle area and density regardless of which other arsenic metabolite the models included.

Why it matters

Arsenic exposure contributes to cardiometabolic disease. The authors emphasized considering how the body processes arsenic when studying its effects in middle-aged and older adults.

Caveats

Other differences between participants could have contributed to both arsenic metabolism and muscle measurements despite statistical adjustment. The results concern adults aged 44–84 with low-to-moderate arsenic exposure, rather than people with high exposure.

Where the evidence stands

Arsenic

Mice and humans: replicated by independent labs. Cells: a single group. Worms or flies: nothing yet.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

No results posted: trials that ended over a year ago with no results on ClinicalTrials.gov and no paper reporting them.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

  • 33 independent labs in 12 countries
  • 5 findings against
  • 6 trials, 1 with no results posted
  • Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China and others
  • 5 of 85 findings with company ties

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