# Maternal Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic in Drinking Water and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Rural Colorado

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2020 · $146,586

## Abstract

Project Summary
Adverse birth outcomes continue to be a major public health concern in the United States with outcomes such
as low birth weight increasing over the past quarter century. However, known risk factors have been unable to
account for all variability in adverse birth outcome risk and therefore research has expanded into examining
environmental exposures such as metals as a source of risk. Exposure to inorganic arsenic has been of
particular interest because nearly 13 million people in the US are exposed to levels higher than the maximum
contaminant level set by the Environmental Protection Agency and exposure in pregnant mothers can cross
the placenta and expose the developing fetus. It has been suggested in epidemiologic and experimental
studies that maternal exposure to inorganic arsenic during pregnancy could be a critical exposure period for a
developing fetus. Exposure has been associated with an increased risk for adverse birth outcomes including
low birth weight, congenital heart defects, and fetal and infant mortality. Additionally, exposure to inorganic
arsenic has been associated with increased risk for gestational diabetes mellitus and pregnancy-induced
hypertension which are also risk factors for the above adverse birth outcomes. We propose to conduct a
cohort study investigating the association between maternal exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water
and the risk for adverse birth outcomes in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, a community with low to moderate (<
100 µg/L) levels. The proposed study will address gaps in understanding of the embryotoxicity and etiology of
inorganic arsenic on adverse birth outcomes and can aid in preventive efforts to limit arsenic exposure since
primary exposure sources are well recognized.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10157115
- **Project number:** 3R21ES028416-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Katherine A James
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $146,586
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10157115

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10157115, Maternal Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic in Drinking Water and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Rural Colorado (3R21ES028416-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10157115. Licensed CC0.

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