Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS)

HEALS is a large prospective cohort study, led by Institute Director Habib Ahsan, is based on individual-level data from a population exposed to a wide range of inorganic arsenic from drinking water in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Over the past 15 years, ~35,000 men and women were recruited to investigate the intermediate and long-term pre-malignant, malignant, and non-malignant health effects of environmental arsenic exposure from drinking water and diet. HEALS participants completed detailed questionnaire and clinical data, as well as biological samples at baseline and biennially thereafter, through a dedicated medical clinic established by the University of Chicago that exclusively serves the HEALS participants.  A range of health outcomes including incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular disorders are ascertained. A subset of this cohort has extensive biomarkers and genomics data including genome-wide SNP, gene expression and methylation data on ~8,000 HEALS participants.