Early life exposure to arsenic via drinking water and impairments to lung structure and function

[Truncated abstract] The contamination of arsenic in drinking water is a global environmental health problem affecting hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. Arsenic is a metalloid found naturally in the earth's crust which can enter ground water and surface water from natural and anthropogenic sources. Arsenic exerts its toxicity through binding to sulfhydryl groups on various proteins throughout the body resulting in a cascade of detrimental effects including oxidative stress, disruption to signalling pathways and hormonal control, and damage to DNA. Chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to the development of numerous cancers and non-malignant diseases including respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Early life is a particularly sensitive developmental period and arsenic exposure during this time has been linked with more frequent and severe respiratory infections and chronic respiratory disease in adulthood. Early life arsenic exposure results in deficits in lung function equivalent to those who smoke cigarettes throughout adulthood. Arsenic is the only environmental agent that has been linked to both malignant and non-malignant respiratory disease following ingestion, rather than inhalation, making arsenic a unique toxicant to the respiratory system.