Mercury Exposure in Utero and During Infancy

Sandborgh‐Englund, Gunilla; Ask, Karolin; Belfrage, Erik; Ekstrand, Jan

doi:10.1080/15287390152103634

Cited by 32 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Still, infant blood MeHg decreased markedly until 13 weeks of age (Figure 1). The decline, which is in line with previous findings (Sakamoto et al 2002; Sandborgh-Englund et al 2001), can be explained partly by the rapid increase in body weight, and partly by a decrease in hematocrit (Ciba-Geigy 1984) due to the exchange from fetal to adult hemoglobin. It is generally believed, based on results from animal studies, that excretion of MeHg (which takes place mainly via feces) by the breast-fed newborn is limited, because demethylating bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract become first established after weaning (Rowland et al 1983).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Transport of Methylmercury and Inorganic Mercury to the Fetus and Breast-Fed Infant

Björnberg

Vahter

Berglund

et al. 2005

Environ Health Perspect

141

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It is well established that methylmercury (MeHg) and mercury vapor pass the placenta, but little is known about infant exposure via breast milk. We measured MeHg and inorganic mercury (I-Hg) in blood of Swedish mothers (n = 20) and their infants, as well as total mercury (T-Hg) in breast milk up to 13 weeks postpartum. Infant blood MeHg was highly associated with maternal blood MeHg at delivery, although more than twice as high. Infant MeHg decreased markedly until 13 weeks of age. Infant blood I-Hg was associated with, and about as high as, maternal blood I-Hg at delivery. Infant I-Hg decreased until 13 weeks. In breast milk, T-Hg decreased significantly from day 4 to 6 weeks after delivery but remained unchanged thereafter. At 13 weeks, T-Hg in breast milk was associated with infant MeHg but not with maternal MeHg. Conversely, T-Hg in breast milk was associated with maternal I-Hg but not with infant I-Hg. From the findings of the present study in which the exposure to both MeHg and I-Hg was low, we conclude that the exposure to both forms of mercury is higher before birth than during the breast-feeding period, and that MeHg seems to contribute more than I-Hg to infant exposure postnatally via breast milk.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Transport of Methylmercury and Inorganic Mercury to the Fetus and Breast-Fed Infant

Björnberg

Vahter

Berglund

et al. 2005

Environ Health Perspect

141

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“…There seems to be a dose-dependent relationship, where the level of exposure is reflected by the magnitude of adverse effects, but it is unclear at what exposure level adverse effects begin to occur (18,28). Since elemental mercury can pass the placenta, it constitutes a potential hazard for the fetus if the mother's blood mercury levels are increased (7,9,11,14,29).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fetal mercury exposure may be a potential hazard for offspring of mothers working in dentistry who may be exposed to mercury due to their daily handling of amalgam. Such exposure to mercury is mainly through cord blood (7), where the magnitude of mercury concentration in maternal plasma is reflected by the magnitude of the fetal mercury concentration (7)(8)(9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive function among sons of women who worked in dentistry

Naimi‐Akbar¹,

Sandborgh‐Englund²,

Ekbom³

et al. 2012

Scand J Work Environ Health

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Objective Exposure to elemental mercury vapor can impair neurological function as it is neurotoxic in doses higher than usually found in dentistry. Little is known about the potential effects of fetal exposure to elemental mercury among offspring of female dental workers. We investigated cognitive function among offspring of women working in dentistry at the time of their pregnancy.Methods We compared results for cognitive function examinations taken by the majority of young men in Sweden at the time of compulsory military enlistment (age 17-18 years). Sons of female dentists (N=365) and dental nurses (N=3181) born during the 1960-1970s were compared with sons of female physicians (N=378) and assistant nurses (N=12 667).Results Analysis by linear regression showed that sons of dental workers had similar or higher cognitive function test results compared to their matched cohorts. ConclusionWe found no evidence of poorer cognitive function among male offspring of female dentists or dental nurses.

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“…One study attempted to correlate exposure to mercury via human milk with infant mercury body burden. Sandborgh-Englund et al (2001) measured the relative contributions of Hg 2+ and MeHg to total maternal, cord, and infant blood mercury in five mother-infant pairs in Sweden. Values were measured at birth, 3 d, and 2 mo postpartum.…”

Section: Human Milk and Mercurymentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Milk Biomonitoring Data: Interpretation and Risk Assessment Issues

LaKind

Brent

Dourson³

et al. 2005

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A

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Biomonitoring data can, under certain conditions, be used to describe potential risks to human health (for example, blood lead levels used to determine children's neurodevelopmental risk). At present, there are very few chemical exposures at low levels for which sufficient data exist to state with confidence the link between levels of environmental chemicals in a person's body and his or her risk of adverse health effects. Human milk biomonitoring presents additional complications. Human milk can be used to obtain information on both the levels of environmental chemicals in the mother and her infant's exposure to an environmental chemical. However, in terms of the health of the mother, there are little to no extant data that can be used to link levels of most environmental chemicals in human milk to a particular health outcome in the mother. This is because, traditionally, risks are estimated based on dose, rather than on levels of environmental chemicals in the body, and the relationship between dose and human tissue levels is complex. On the other hand, for the infant, some information on dose is available because the infant is exposed to environmental chemicals in milk as a "dose" from which risk estimates can be derived. However, the traditional risk assessment approach is not designed to consider the benefits to the infant associated with breastfeeding and is complicated by the relatively short-term exposures to the infant from breastfeeding. A further complexity derives from the addition of in utero exposures, which complicates interpretation of epidemiological research on health outcomes of breastfeeding infants. Thus, the concept of "risk assessment" as it applies to human milk biomonitoring is not straightforward, and methodologies for undertaking this type of assessment have not yet been fully developed. This article describes the deliberations of the panel convened for the Technical Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Biomonitoring for Environmental Chemicals in the United States, held at the Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, on several issues related to risk assessment and human milk biomonitoring. Discussion of these topics and the thoughts and conclusions of the panel are described in this article.

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Mercury Exposure in Utero and During Infancy

Cited by 32 publications

References 6 publications

Transport of Methylmercury and Inorganic Mercury to the Fetus and Breast-Fed Infant

Transport of Methylmercury and Inorganic Mercury to the Fetus and Breast-Fed Infant

Cognitive function among sons of women who worked in dentistry

Human Milk Biomonitoring Data: Interpretation and Risk Assessment Issues

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