Hair mercury levels, fish consumption, and cognitive development in preschool children from Granada, Spain ,

Freire, Carmen; Ramos, Rosa; Lopez-Espinosa, Maria-José; Dı́ez, Sergi; Vioque, Jesús; Ballester, Ferrán; Fernández, Mariana-Fátima

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2009.10.005

Cited by 174 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…A cross-sectional study of 72 four-year old boys in Spain (geometric mean mercury level in hair 1.81 mg/kg) found decrements in cognitive abilities (general cognitive, memory and verbal scores) for boys with hair mercury levels above 1 mg/kg -about half of the studied children -compared with those with lower levels (Freire et al, 2010). The authors adjusted for fish consumption and a number of potential confounders.…”

Section: Postnatal Exposure and Observations In Childhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

2012

EFS2

449

160

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EFSA was asked by the European Commission to consider new developments regarding inorganic mercury and methylmercury toxicity and evaluate whether the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) provisional tolerable weekly intakes for methylmercury of 1.6 µg/kg body weight (b.w.) and of 4 µg/kg b.w. for inorganic mercury were still appropriate. In line with JECFA, the CONTAM Panel established a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for inorganic mercury of 4 µg/kg b.w., expressed as mercury. For methylmercury, new developments in epidemiological studies from the Seychelles Child Developmental Study Nutrition Cohort have indicated that n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish may counteract negative effects from methylmercury exposure. Together with the information that beneficial nutrients in fish may have confounded previous adverse outcomes in child cohort studies from the Faroe Islands, the Panel established a TWI for methylmercury of 1.3 µg/kg b.w., expressed as mercury. The mean dietary exposure across age groups does not exceed the TWI for methylmercury, with the exception of toddlers and other children in some surveys. The 95 th percentile dietary exposure is close to or above the TWI for all age groups. High fish consumers, which might include pregnant women, may exceed the TWI by up to approximately six-fold. Unborn children constitute the most vulnerable group. Biomonitoring data from blood and hair indicate that methylmercury exposure is generally below the TWI in Europe, but higher levels are also observed. Exposure to methylmercury above the TWI is of concern. If measures to reduce methylmercury exposure are considered, the potential beneficial effects of fish consumption should also be taken into account. Dietary inorganic mercury exposure in Europe does not exceed the TWI, but inhalation exposure of elemental mercury from dental amalgam is likely to increase the internal inorganic mercury exposure; thus the TWI might be exceeded. This opinion focuses only on the risks related to dietary inorganic mercury and methylmercury exposure and does not assess the nutritional benefits linked to certain foods (e.g. fish and other seafood).A call for annual collection of chemical contaminant occurrence data in food and feed, including mercury, was issued by EFSA in December 2010. In response, EFSA received 59 820 results on mercury in food from 20 European countries, mainly covering the period from 2004 to 2011. A total number of 59 650 results were described with sufficient detail to be used in the statistical analysis of the respective food groups; 98.2 % of the samples were for total mercury, 1.8 % for methylmercury and three samples for inorganic mercury.All the 20 food groups available at the first level of FoodEx were covered in the current data collection. The food groups 'Fish and other seafood' and 'Meat and meat products' dominated the food product coverage with 36.8 % and 17.6 % respectively. These were followed by 'Grain and grain-based products' at 7.8 % and 'Vegetables an...

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Section: Postnatal Exposure and Observations In Childhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

2012

EFS2

449

160

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A more recent review indicates that a wide range of exposure, with mean hair-Hg levels above 15 mg kg -1 in several Amazonian communities has been found, placing them among the highest reported levels in the world . Although there is much conflicting data about Hg limits in human hair, possibly indicating initial problems due to Hg exposure, it is well established that fish consumption constitutes the main intake of Hg in human populations (Marques et al 2007;Passos et al 2007b;Díez et al 2008;Endo and Haraguchi 2010;Freire et al 2010). The frequency of fish consumption is usually determined by the number of protein options available to a community.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many recent studies of fish consumers in Europe and America have revealed significant associations between fish consumption and Hg and methylmercury (MeHg) levels (Roulet et al 1997;Guentzel et al 2007;Marques et al 2007;Passos et al 2007;Díez et al 2008;Endo and Haraguchi 2010;Freire et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury and methylmercury concentration assessment in children's hair from Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil

et al. 2012

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The present study evaluated Hg and MeHg content in hair samples of 201 children 2 to 7 years old, living in six neighborhoods of the city of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. In general, the total Hg and MeHg median ranges in hair were similar (0.91 to 1.71 mg kg -1 ) except for the São Jose neighborhood, which was lower (0.16 mg kg -1 ). De spite the fact that the Manaus population consumes fish as part of the normal dietary intake, the Hg hair levels were below the level for an adult population not exposed to mercury (2.0 mg kg -1 ). These data were compared to demographic, socioeconomic information and eating habits of the families that took part in the study. The results were also compared to other published data from the Amazon region, other regions of Brazil and other countries. Future studies to set Hg and MeHg levels in hair of children in Brazil should take into account and assess the diversity of the country, mainly in terms of eating habits, socio-economic and cultural aspects. Keywords: mercury, methylmercury, children's hair, Amazon region. ). Esses dados foram comparados com informações demográficas, socioeconômicas e hábitos alimentares das famílias que participaram do estudo. Os resultados também foram comparados com outros dados publicados da Amazônia, outras regiões do Brasil e outros países. Futuros estudos para definir os níveis de Hg total e MeHg no cabelo das crianças brasileiras deverão considerar e avaliar a diversidade do país, principalmente em termos de hábitos alimentares, nível sócio-econômico e os aspectos culturais. Avaliação da concentração de Mercúrio e Metilmercúrio em cabelo de crianças de Manaus, Estado do Amazonas, Brasil

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“…The European Food Safety Authority reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors. (Freire et al, 2010) Mercury toxicity in experimental animals and humans (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011) Supporting publications 2012:EN-297 54…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collate the literature on toxicity data on mercury in experimental animals and humans (Part I – Data on organic mercury)

Hassauer

Kaiser

Schneider

et al. 2012

EFSA Supporting Publications

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It was the scope of this project to collate, compile and summarise the scientific literature on the toxicity of methyl mercury, inorganic mercury and total mercury in humans and experimental animals published since 2002 and not evaluated in former JECFA risk assessments. Epidemiological data on MeHg toxicity confirmed former findings on an association between prenatal exposure and developmental neurotoxicity. Recent findings also support an influence of methyl mercury on the cardiovascular and immune system. Existing epidemiological data reveal several shortcomings limiting their suitability for risk assessment. Developmental neurotoxicity seems to be the most critical effect of MeHg in animals. A LOAEL of 0.01 mg/kg b.w. per day has been reported in young mice for locomotor activity exposed in utero. Rats seem to be less sensitive towards this endpoint: a NOAEL of 0.04 mg/kg b.w. per day has been reported in this species for locomotor activity. Systemic effects other than neurotoxicity have been mostly observed at higher doses than those producing neurotoxicity. No qualified epidemiological data appropriate for the evaluation of the toxicity of inorganic mercury after oral intake have been identified due to several limitations of the studies, e.g. small study group, insufficient control for confounders, inadequate exposure assessment. Toxicological studies in experimental animals widely confirmed former findings with respect to the target organs (neuro-, liver-, kidney-, immune-and reproductive toxicity, oxidative stress). The animal studies indicate that there might be relevant toxicological effects (developmental toxicity, liver toxicity) of inorganic mercury at dose levels similar or below the BMDL 10 value used for the derivation of the existing PTWI. However, due to some limitations of the studies no final conclusions can be drawn from these studies and the findings need further confirmation.

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Hair mercury levels, fish consumption, and cognitive development in preschool children from Granada, Spain ,

Cited by 174 publications

References 48 publications

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

Mercury and methylmercury concentration assessment in children's hair from Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil

Collate the literature on toxicity data on mercury in experimental animals and humans (Part I – Data on organic mercury)

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