Arsenic exposure, dermatological lesions, hypertension, and chromosomal abnormalities among people in a rural community of northwest Iran.

Chronic exposure to arsenic compounds is one of the major public-health problems in many developing and some developed countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic exposure to arsenic on dermatological lesions, hypertension, and chromosomal abnormalities among people in a community in the northwest of Iran. The occurrence of dermatological lesions, hypertension, and chromosomal abnormalities was investigated in two groups: Ghopuz village, including 101 subjects with chronic exposure to arsenic in drinking-water and Mayan village, including 107 subjects with no exposure.