Association of Blood Mercury Level with the Risk of Depression According to Fish Intake Level in the General Korean Population: Findings from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2008–2013

Abstract

Mercury is a cumulative neurotoxic agent, exposure to high levels of which may increase the risk of psychiatric symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between blood mercury and depression risk in Korean adults. We analyzed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) with 11,754 participants (male: 5834 female: 5920) aged ≥19 years from 2008 to 2013. The associations of blood mercury with risk of depression were estimated using multivariate logistic regression after adjustment for potential confounders. We found a significantly increased risk of depression in the highest quintile for blood mercury (multivariate OR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.20–3.48; p trend = 0.03) among female, but not male. A stratification analysis by fish intake showed that the association between depression and blood mercury was strengthened (OR = 4.00; 95% CI = 1.51–10.6; p trend = 0.015) among females with the lowest tertile of fish intake. The results of this study suggest that higher levels of blood mercury, especially in cases of lower fish intake, are positively associated with the risk of depression in Korean women.

Machine learning model for depression based on heavy metals among aging people: A study with National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017–2018

“…Depression is an increasingly serious global mental health problem, resulting in a significant decline in physical function and quality of life but an increase in disease incidence and mortality. In 2017, about 17.3 million adults aged 18 and over in the United States experienced at least one episode of major depression, with a prevalence of about 7.1% ( 1 ). According to the “depression and other common mental diseases: global health estimates” released by world health organization (WHO) in 2017, the total number of patients with depression in the world was 322 million.…”

Soy product consumption and the risk of major depressive disorder in older adults: Evidence from a cohort study

“…The insignificant associations observed among the participants with arthritis and dietary supplement intake might be explained in this same way. Fish consumption is commonly recognized as the primary source of methylmercury exposure, and a Korean study suggested that higher blood mercury was positively associated with the risk of depression (31). However, a metaanalysis study reported that high-fish consumption could reduce the risk of depression based on the data from the observational studies, and the findings remained significant in the cohort studies (32).…”

Assessment of Lead and Mercury Exposure Levels in the General Population of Korea Using Integrated National Biomonitoring Data

“…Compared to the results from the studies conducted outside Korea, the blood Hg concentration in the Korean population showed a relatively large difference. This could be inferred based on various studies on the correlation between the amount of fish consumed and Hg concentration in the body [ 31 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ] and a study reporting that Asians have higher fish consumption than other ethnicities [ 40 ]. In a report on the amount of seafood consumed by countries, Asian countries, including Korea, continue to rank high [ 41 , 42 ].…”