Associação entre as concentrações de arsênio e parâmetros de obesidade em adultos e idosos

Abstract

Arsenic is a toxic chemical element and experimental and epidemiological studies suggest its association with the development of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including obesity. The objective of this work was to investigate the associations between arsenic concentrations and obesity parameters in adults and the elderly. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 112 individuals of both sexes, living in the city of Natal/RN, participating in the Brazilian Usual Consumption Assessment (BRAZUCA) Natal Study. The sample was divided into two groups, a group of 66 individuals without obesity (BMI < 30 kg/m²) and another group of 46 individuals with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). Sociobiodemographic and lifestyle data were collected. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist/hip ratio (WHR) were evaluated and the visceral adiposity index (VAI) was calculated. Arsenic was measured in urine using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. The results indicated a trend towards higher concentrations of arsenic in urine in the group of individuals with obesity (44.16 μg/L) compared to the group without obesity (39.46 μg/L), although there were no significant differences (p> 0.05). Significant inverse associations between urine arsenic and VAI (β -0.02, R² 16.07, p<0.01) were demonstrated in the multiple linear regression model, considering the total sample. These results highlighted the need to deepen mechanisms that explain the relationship of arsenic and its methylated species with obesity, in the sense of developing alternative therapeutic paths to face this global epidemic.