Possible link found between arsenic in water and diabetes

An analysis of 788 adults' medical tests found that people with low levels of arsenic concentrations in their urine were nearly four times more likely to contract type 2 diabetes than people with even lower levels of arsenic, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association said on Wednesday. According to a story on CNN.com, the study is the first to link low-level arsenic exposure to type 2 diabetes. Links have already been made with high-levels of arsenic exposure and the disease.

While some, such as Dr. Ana Navas-Acien of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore are optimistic that this is all preventable partially through newer, safer drinking water standards, seafood is also known to contain nontoxic organic arsenic. Researchers "found that people with type 2 diabetes had 26 percent higher inorganic arsenic levels than people without type 2 diabetes."

In 2001, the United States lowered standards of arsenic in public drinking water to 10 parts per billion due to cancer risks.

To learn more:
- read CNN.com's article