Trace arsenic in drinking water could link to Type 2 diabetes

NEW YORK Small amounts of arsenic in drinking water may be linked to Type 2 diabetes, according to research published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study examined medical tests from 788 adults and found that those with low concentrations of arsenic in their urine were four times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes as those with lower concentrations.

This is not the first time research has linked diabetes with arsenic, but it is the first time it has linked the disease with low levels of the chemical.

Arsenic sometimes occurs naturally in drinking water because of dissolved minerals, but it is also an industrial pollutant. Filtration systems remove it from drinking water, but it is still common in some areas, such as in the developing world. In addition to the link to diabetes, it is known to cause cancer.