Relationships among Mercury Concentration, and Stable Isotope Ratios of Carbon and Nitrogen in the Scalp Hair of Residents from Seven Countries: Effects of Marine Fish and C4 Plants Consumption

Abstract

We analyzed the Hg concentration, and δ¹³C and δ15N values in the scalp hair of residents from seven countries; Vietnam, New Zealand, Spain, the USA, South Korea, Brazil and Japan. Relationships among the data in each country and among the seven countries were then examined. The highest Hg concentration as well as the highest or higher δ15N value in each country was found in the hair of a heavy marine fish-eater, whereas the lowest Hg concentration and δ15N value were found in the hair of a vegetarian or non (marginal)-fish eater. Hg concentrations were positively correlated with the δ15N values in each country, and increased markedly in samples with δ15N values exceeding 9.0 ‰, probably due to fish consumption. The highest Hg concentration could be found in sample, with a δ¹³C value between -19 and -18‰, probably reflecting the δ¹³C value of the marine food web.

Correlations between mercury concentration, and stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen of amino acids in scalp hair from whale meat eaters and heavy fish eaters

“…Nine hair samples from Japanese fish eaters were randomly chosen from 90 donors. The samples from whale meat eaters from Japan and heavy fish eaters from USA (Hawaii), Spain and Brazil were chosen from the donors with the highest Hg concentration among those groups in the previous report . The average Hg concentration in the present study of Japanese fish eaters (1.95 ± 0.42 μg/g; range from 1.30 to 2.58 μg/g, n = 9) shown in Table was similar to that of the Japanese population .…”

“…The scalp hair samples analyzed in this study were chosen from hair remaining from a previous survey of Hg . Nine hair samples from Japanese fish eaters were randomly chosen from 90 donors.…”

“…[1][2][3] The main source of human Hg intake is the consumption of fish and other marine animals contaminated with methylmercury (M-Hg). [4][5][6][7][8] Hg concentration in scalp hair is the preferred marker for evaluating Hg exposure, as the ratio of Hg in hair to blood is very high (about 250:1). [9] The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that an Hg level of 50 μg/g in human hair corresponds to the "no observed adverse effect level" (NOAEL) for M-Hg in adults.…”

Essential and Non-essential Elements in Scalp Hair of Diabetics: Correlations with Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c)

“…In the present study, we investigate the relationships between HbA1c and the concentrations of 12 elements (Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Fe, Cr, Mn, V, As, Cd, Hg and Pb) in the scalp hair and between HbA1c and eGFR of diabetic patients in Japan. 11,12,17) control subjects are defined as donors of scalp hair who ate normal diets and declared to be healthy without any specific disease. The control subjects included 24 males (56.9±14.4 years, 37-83 years) and .…”

“…Patient who showed a sudden decrease in body weight within at least one month before collection of hair sample. 11,12,17) Information on the diabetic subjects collected is listed in Table 1. The diabetic subjects included 29 males (63.1±14.0 years) and 16 females (67.9±10.4 years) with an average age of 66.3±11.9 years (n=45).…”