Seasonal variations in exposure to methylmercury and its dietary sources among pregnant Inuit women in Nunavik, Canada

Pontual, Mariana de Moraes; Ayotte, Pierre; Little, Matthew; Furgal, Chris; Boyd, Amanda D.; Muckle, Gina; Avard, Ellen; Ricard, Sylvie; Gauthier, Marie-Josée; Sidi, Elhadji Anassour-Laouan; Lemire, Mélanie

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143196

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Space and place incorporate the connections Indigenous Peoples and communities have with the physical environment and the important role of these relationships for Indigenous identity and practice. These articles discussed the importance of access to Indigenous foods, and the role that the ecology and physical environment plays within Indigenous culture and knowledge systems [ 59 , 60 ]. The articles coded under this theme primarily discussed how the winter and summer months presented barriers in accessing traditional foods and engaging in physical activity.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous maternal health and health services within Canada: a scoping review

Bacciaglia

Neufeld

Neiterman

et al. 2023

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background Globally, there are disparities in access to maternal health care services and equity in maternal health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. While the literature is growing, it has not been systematically synthesized. This review addresses this gap by synthesizing the existing literature on the organizational structure of maternity care, accessibility and delivery of services, and clinical disparities impacting Indigenous maternal health within Canada. It also identifies current knowledge gaps in research on these topics. Methods A scoping review was completed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines and the extension for scoping reviews. The search for relevant papers was performed in PubMed, CINAHL, and SCOPUS electronic databases and included any empirical literature written in English and published during 2006 – 2021. The research team inductively coded 5 articles to develop a coding scheme, which was then applied to the remaining articles. Results A total of 89 articles were included in the review, of which 32 were qualitative papers, 40 quantitative, 8 were mixed-methods publications, and 9 were review papers. The analysis of the articles resulted in identifying a range of overarching themes pertaining to the maternal health of Indigenous women within Canada including provision of services, clinical issues, education, health disparities, organization, spatial context, and impact of informal support. The results suggest that physical, psychological, organizational, and systemic barriers inhibit the quality-of-care pregnant Indigenous women receive, and that maternal health services are not consistently provided in a culturally safe manner. Results also suggest that, compared to non-Indigenous pregnant women, Indigenous women are more likely to develop clinical complications during pregnancy, reflecting the structural impacts of colonization that continue to negatively influence Indigenous maternal health and well-being. Conclusions There are many complex barriers that prevent Indigenous women from receiving high quality and culturally appropriate maternal care. Possible areas that could address the service gaps illuminated through this review include the implementation of cultural considerations across health care jurisdictions within Canada.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous maternal health and health services within Canada: a scoping review

Bacciaglia

Neufeld

Neiterman

et al. 2023

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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“…Differences in Hg concentrations among circumpolar countries may reflect differences in dietary intake among the different regions. For example in Nunavik, the local foods that contribute the most to Hg dietary intake are beluga (meat, nikku, mattaq), lake trout and seal liver [34], and the contribution of each of these varies by season with the highest intake of beluga meat occurring in the late summer and fall [35]. In Greenland, Inuit consume marine foods such as fish, seals and whales, and intake of Hg has been strongly associated with consumption of seals [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MercuNorth – monitoring mercury in pregnant women from the Arctic as a baseline to assess the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention

Adlard

Lemire

Bonefeld-Jörgensen

et al. 2021

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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Exposure to mercury (Hg) is a global concern, particularly among Arctic populations that rely on the consumption of marine mammals and fish which are the main route of Hg exposure for Arctic populations.The MercuNorth project was created to establish baseline Hg levels across several Arctic regions during the period preceding the Minamata Convention. Blood samples were collected from 669 pregnant women, aged 18-44 years, between 2010 and 2016 from sites across the circumpolar Arctic including Alaska (USA),

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“…Timing of the communication may be particularly important due to the seasonality in the harvest of key species. For example, the NQN study showed that MeHg exposure among pregnant women was significantly higher during the beluga hunt and associated beluga meat consumption during that time, since this is the local country food most responsible for elevated MeHg exposure in Nunavik [ 52 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Updated review on contaminant communication experiences in the circumpolar Arctic

Krümmel,

Boyd,

Brandow

et al. 2024

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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Arctic populations are amongst the highest exposed populations to long-range transported contaminants globally, with the main exposure pathway being through the diet. Dietary advice is an important immediate means to address potential exposure and help minimize adverse health effects. The objective of this work is to enable easier access to dietary advice and communication guidance on contaminants with a focus on the Arctic. This manuscript is part of a special issue summarizing the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme’s Assessment 2021: Human Health in the Arctic. The information was derived with internet searches, and by contacting relevant experts directly. Results include risk communication efforts in European Arctic countries, effectiveness evaluation studies for several Arctic countries, experience of social media use, and the advantages and challenges of using social media in risk communication. We found that current risk communication activities in most Arctic countries emphasize the importance of a nutritious diet. Contaminant-related restrictions are mostly based on mercury; a limited amount of dietary advice is based on other contaminants. While more information on effectiveness evaluation was available, specific information, particularly from Arctic countries other than Canada, is still very limited.

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Seasonal variations in exposure to methylmercury and its dietary sources among pregnant Inuit women in Nunavik, Canada

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Indigenous maternal health and health services within Canada: a scoping review

Indigenous maternal health and health services within Canada: a scoping review

MercuNorth – monitoring mercury in pregnant women from the Arctic as a baseline to assess the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention

Updated review on contaminant communication experiences in the circumpolar Arctic

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