Hair-to-blood ratio and biological half-life of mercury: experimental study of methylmercury exposure through fish consumption in humans

Yaginuma-Sakurai, Kozue; Murata, Katsuyuki; Iwai-Shimada, Miyuki; Nakai, Kunihiko; Kurokawa, Naoyuki; Tatsuta, Nozomi; Satoh, Hiroshi

doi:10.2131/jts.37.123

Cited by 87 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…On the other hand, intake of predatory fish was not a significant predictor, and an inconsistency may have occurred between actual and stated consumption. In addition, methylmercury has an elimination half-life in humans of about 45-60 days [23,24], thus resulting in a delay in hairmercury concentrations as a response to dietary change. Further, the questionnaire aimed at providing reliable information about average consumption during the previous four weeks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health benefits of hair-mercury analysis and dietary advice in lowering methylmercury exposure in pregnant women

Kirk

Jørgensen

Nielsen

et al. 2017

Scand J Public Health

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Shortened running title: Lowering mercury exposure in pregnant womenWord count: 3094 (excl. abstract and references) 2 AbstractAim: To evaluate whether a public health intervention using focused dietary advice combined with a hair-mercury analysis can lower neurotoxic methylmercury exposure among pregnant women, without decreasing overall seafood intake. Methods: At the antenatal clinic at a Danish university hospital, a total of 146 pregnant women were consecutively recruited at the initial ultrasound scan.Dietary advice was provided on avoiding methylmercury exposures from large, predatory fish, and a hair sample from each participant was analysed for mercury, with the results being communicated shortly thereafter to the women. A dietary questionnaire was filled in. Follow-up three months later included a dietary questionnaire and a repeat hair-mercury analysis. Results: In the follow-up group, 22 percent had hair-mercury concentrations above a safe limit of 0.58 µg/g at enrolment, decreasing to 8 percent three months later. Average hair-mercury concentrations decreased by 21 percent. However, total seafood intake remained at the same level after three months. Conclusions: Elevated exposure to methylmercury among pregnant women is an important public health concern in Denmark. The observed lowering of hair-mercury concentrations associated with dietary advice corresponds to a substantial public health benefit that likely makes such intervention highly profitable.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health benefits of hair-mercury analysis and dietary advice in lowering methylmercury exposure in pregnant women

Kirk

Jørgensen

Nielsen

et al. 2017

Scand J Public Health

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show abstract

“…While targeted mechanistic modeling suggests that advisories that temporarily eliminate or lower maternal fish consumption are unlikely to be effective in reducing prenatal, postnatal, and childhood exposures to long-lived persistent organic pollutants, lowering the consumption of food items that contain chemicals with elimination half-lives shorter than the period of dietary change may be highly effective for reducing these human exposures . For example, methyl mercury, which has a half-life of 40-60 days in people (Stern, 2005; Yaginuma-Sakurai et al, 2012), comprises a large fraction of total mercury in blood. Its presence in people is indicative of recent exposures from a diet that includes fish and other seafood or marine mammals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing determinants of maternal blood concentrations for persistent organic pollutants and metals in the eastern and western Canadian Arctic

Curren

Liang

Davis

et al. 2015

Science of The Total Environment

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Aboriginal peoples in the Canadian Arctic are exposed to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metals mainly through their consumption of a traditional diet of wildlife items. Recent studies indicate that many human chemical levels have decreased in the north, likely due to a combination of reduced global chemical emissions, dietary shifts, and risk mitigation efforts by local health authorities. Body burdens for chemicals in mothers can be further offset by breastfeeding, parity, and other maternal characteristics. We have assessed the impact of several dietary and maternal covariates following a decade of awareness of the contaminant issue in northern Canada, by performing multiple stepwise linear regression analyses from blood concentrations and demographic variables for 176 mothers recruited from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories during the period 2005-2007. A significant aboriginal group effect was observed for the modeled chemicals, except for lead and cadmium, after adjusting for covariates. Further, blood concentrations for POPs and metals were significantly associated with at least one covariate of older age, fewer months spent breastfeeding, more frequent eating of traditional foods, or smoking during pregnancy. Cadmium had the highest explained variance (72.5%) from just two significant covariates (current smoking status and parity). Although Inuit participants from the Northwest Territories consumed more traditional foods in general, Inuit participants from coastal communities in Nunavut continued to demonstrate higher adjusted blood concentrations for POPs and metals examined here. While this is due in part to a higher prevalence of marine mammals in the eastern Arctic diet, it is possible that other aboriginal group effects unrelated to diet may also contribute to elevated chemical body burdens in Canadian Arctic populations.

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“…In the general population, most blood mercury levels are considered to be from organic methylmercury through fish consumption [6]. The half-life of total mercury is 57 ± 18 days in blood and 64 ± 22 days in hair [7]. Mercury is secreted into bile and partly reabsorbed by the liver through the portal vein in biliary-hepatic cycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blood mercury concentrations are associated with decline in liver function in an elderly population: a panel study

et al. 2017

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Background: Mercury is a toxic heavy metal and is known to affect many diseases. However, few studies have examined the effects of mercury exposure on liver function in the general population. We examined the association between blood mercury concentrations and liver enzyme levels in the elderly. Methods: We included 560 elderly participants (60 years or older) who were recruited from 2008 to 2010 and followed up to 2014. Subjects visited a community welfare center and underwent a medical examination and measurement of mercury levels up to five times. Analyses using generalized estimating equations model were performed after adjusting for age, sex, education, overweight, alcohol consumption, smoking, regular exercise, high-density lipoproteins cholesterol, and total calorie intake. Additionally, we estimated interaction effects of alcohol consumption with mercury and mediation effect of oxidative stress in the relationship between mercury levels and liver function.

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Hair-to-blood ratio and biological half-life of mercury: experimental study of methylmercury exposure through fish consumption in humans

Cited by 87 publications

References 30 publications

Public health benefits of hair-mercury analysis and dietary advice in lowering methylmercury exposure in pregnant women

Public health benefits of hair-mercury analysis and dietary advice in lowering methylmercury exposure in pregnant women

Assessing determinants of maternal blood concentrations for persistent organic pollutants and metals in the eastern and western Canadian Arctic

Blood mercury concentrations are associated with decline in liver function in an elderly population: a panel study

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