Body burdens of mercury, lead, selenium and copper among Baltimore newborns

Wells, Ellen M.; Jarrett, Jeffery M.; Lin, Yu Hong; Caldwell, Kathleen L.; Hibbeln, Joseph R.; Apelberg, Benjamin J.; Herbstman, Julie B.; Halden, Rolf U.; Witter, Frank R.; Goldman, Lynn R.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2010.12.009

Cited by 47 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(73 reference statements)

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“…This may suggest a relatively different roles of serum ferritin on metabolic derangement by gender and ethnicity. In addition, Asian mothers have higher mercury concentrations than white Caucasians and African Americans (Wells et al, ). A recent prospective study demonstrating the development of hypertension among middle‐aged Korean men by increasing concentrations of serum ferritin (Kim et al, ) also support the role of ferritin in hypertension development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated serum ferritin and mercury concentrations are associated with hypertension; analysis of the fourth and fifth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES IV-2, 3, 2008-2009 and V-1, 2010)

et al. 2013

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The impact of simultaneously elevated serum ferritin and mercury concentrations on hypertension in the general population is not known. To determine the association of serum ferritin and mercury concentrations with hypertension, 6213 subjects (3060 men and 3153 women) over 20 years of age from 2008 to 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were divided into tertiles according to serum ferritin and mercury concentrations in each gender. Serum ferritin (258.2 vs. 94.8 pmol=L) and mercury concentrations (28.4 vs. 19.9 nmol=L) were higher in men than in women. Serum ferritin (men; P 5 0.029, women; P < 0.001) and mercury (men; P < 0.001, women; P 5 0.003) concentrations were significantly associated with the prevalence of hypertension. In addition, significant correlation between serum ferritin and mercury concentrations in both men (r 5 0.193, P < 0.001) and women (r 5 0.145, P < 0.001) were found. Also, the increase of serum ferritin concentrations were more prominent in men (P < 0.001) than in women (P 5 0.017) as the serum mercury tertiles increased after proper adjustments. Furthermore, significantly higher odds ratios of hypertension were found in the second (OR 5 1.86, 95% CI; 1.05-3.30), and third (OR 5 1.84, 95% CI; 1.01-3.36) tertiles of serum ferritin with the top tertile of serum mercury in men. The current study indicate that serum ferritin and mercury concentrations are associated with the prevalence of hypertension and that simultaneously elevated serum ferritin and mercury concentrations are related to the risk for hypertension in men.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated serum ferritin and mercury concentrations are associated with hypertension; analysis of the fourth and fifth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES IV-2, 3, 2008-2009 and V-1, 2010)

et al. 2013

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“…25,26 Briefly, trained hospital staff collected umbilical cord blood from the umbilical cord vein immediately following delivery. Cord blood was stored for <3 h at 4°C, then study staff separated samples into whole blood (for methyl mercury) and serum (for other analytes) and transferred samples to 2 mm polypropylene tubes prescreened for metals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of selenium and copper with lipids in umbilical cord blood

Wells

Navas‐Acien

Apelberg³

et al. 2014

J Dev Orig Health Dis

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Altered levels of selenium and copper have been linked with altered cardiovascular disease risk factors including changes in blood triglyceride and cholesterol levels. However, it is unclear whether this can be observed prenatally. This cross-sectional study includes 274 singleton births from 2004 to 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland. We measured umbilical cord serum selenium and copper using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We evaluated exposure levels vis-à-vis umbilical cord serum triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations in multivariable regression models adjusted for gestational age, birth weight, maternal age, race, parity, smoking, prepregnancy body mass index, n-3 fatty acids and methyl mercury. The percent difference in triglycerides comparing those in the highest v. lowest quartile of selenium was 22.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 7.1, 39.7). For copper this was 43.8% (95% CI: 25.9, 64.3). In multivariable models including both copper and selenium as covariates, copper, but not selenium, maintained a statistically significant association with increased triglycerides (percent difference: 40.7%, 95% CI: 22.1, 62.1). There was limited evidence of a relationship of increasing selenium with increasing total cholesterol. Our findings provide evidence that higher serum copper levels are associated with higher serum triglycerides in newborns, but should be confirmed in larger studies.

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“…First, there are sparse data on early life metal exposures and maternal–fetal transfer in high-risk US urban African–American populations. 19,20 Second, few studies have simultaneously measured concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se in plasma and RBCs of mother–newborn pairs at birth. As such, little is known about the relative levels of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se in maternal and fetal RBCs versus plasma samples, and the utility of RBCs versus plasma to reflect the trans-placental transfer of these elements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Placental transfer and concentrations of cadmium, mercury, lead, and selenium in mothers, newborns, and young children

Chen

Myers

Wei

et al. 2014

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

174

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There is an emerging hypothesis that exposure to cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) in utero and early childhood could have long-term health consequences. However, there are sparse data on early life exposures to these elements in US populations, particularly in urban minority samples. This study measured levels of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se in 50 paired maternal, umbilical cord, and postnatal blood samples from the Boston Birth Cohort (BBC). Maternal exposure to Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se was 100% detectable in red blood cells (RBCs), and there was a high degree of maternal–fetal transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se. In particular, we found that Hg levels in cord RBCs were 1.5 times higher than those found in the mothers. This study also investigated changes in concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Se during the first few years of life. We found decreased levels of Hg and Se but elevated Pb levels in early childhood. Finally, this study investigated the association between metal burden and preterm birth and low birthweight. We found significantly higher levels of Hg in maternal and cord plasma and RBCs in preterm or low birthweight births, compared with term or normal birthweight births. In conclusion, this study showed that maternal exposure to these elements was widespread in the BBC, and maternal–fetal transfer was a major source of early life exposure to Hg, Pb, and Se. Our results also suggest that RBCs are better than plasma at reflecting the trans-placental transfer of Hg, Pb, and Se from the mother to the fetus. Our study findings remain to be confirmed in larger studies, and the implications for early screening and interventions of preconception and pregnant mothers and newborns warrant further investigation.

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Body burdens of mercury, lead, selenium and copper among Baltimore newborns

Cited by 47 publications

References 49 publications

Elevated serum ferritin and mercury concentrations are associated with hypertension; analysis of the fourth and fifth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES IV-2, 3, 2008-2009 and V-1, 2010)

Elevated serum ferritin and mercury concentrations are associated with hypertension; analysis of the fourth and fifth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES IV-2, 3, 2008-2009 and V-1, 2010)

Association of selenium and copper with lipids in umbilical cord blood

Placental transfer and concentrations of cadmium, mercury, lead, and selenium in mothers, newborns, and young children

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