Environmental arsenic exposure and risk of diabetes type 2 in Ron Phibun subdistrict, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand: unmatched and matched case-control studies.

Background: There are inconsistent findings on associations between low-to-moderate level of arsenic in water and diabetes risk from previous epidemiological reports. In Ron Phibun subdistrict, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand, a low level of arsenic exposure among population was observed and increased diabetes mellitus (DM) rate was identified.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association between determinants (including low-level water arsenic exposure) of DM type 2 risk among residents of three villages of Ron Phibun subdistrict, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.

Laboratory case identification of arsenic in Ronpibul village, Thailand (2000-2002).

Ronpibul village dwellers in the southern part of Thailand have been exposed to arsenic in the water and the environment over three generations. Over the past decades, clean water supplies, utilization and consumption have been introduced to the area. The villagers still use and select rainwater to other forms of potable water.

Accreditation of analytical laboratories and proficiency testing: experiences from Thailand on the issues of pesticide analysis.

Thailand, the economic growth of which largely depends on agriculture-based industry, recognizes the importance of international standards for harmonization of international food trade and for protection of human health from chemicals used as food additives or those present as contaminants. Pesticides which are widely used in Thailand are the anticholinesterase pesticides, pyrethroids, coumarin derivatives, bipyridinium salts, and to some extent organochlorine compounds such as DDT in malaria control. Proficiency testing and accreditation of laboratories are recognized as effective means to ensure quality and validity of data and to enable adequate risk assessment of pesticide residues in food, work environment and environment in general.