Mercury health risk assessment among a young adult Lebanese population

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) exposure represents a significant public health concern at a global level. This study aims at assessing Hg exposure and risk among Lebanese young adults based on Hg biomonitoring and seafood intake. A group of 166 young adults were administered a questionnaire to assess Hg exposure and were asked to provide a hair sample. Risk assessment was performed: (1) using the US Environmental Protection Agency Hazard Quotient (HQ) model based on fish intake and previously studied local fish Hg concentrations, and (2) by determining the total hair Hg concentration (THHg) using continuous flow-chemical vapor generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Differences in THHg across demographic and exposure subgroups were tested using t test or ANOVA. Correlations between THHg concentrations, fish consumption, and HQ were determined by computing Pearson's r. Higher THHg correlated with higher consumption of Mediterranean rabbitfish/spinefoots (r = 0.27; p = 0.001) and geographical location (p < 0.001) in the bivariate analysis, and remained significant in the adjusted multivariable linear regression model (geographical location: ß = 0.255, 95%CI 0.121-0.388; rabbitfish/spinefoots consumption: ß = 0.016, 95%CI 0.004-0.027). No significant correlations were found between HQ and THHg. In conclusion, this is the first study examining hair Hg levels and fish consumption in a young adult Lebanese population. Our findings constitute valuable baseline data for a local fish advisory and Hg monitoring.

Dietary Intake of Cadmium, Lead and Mercury and Its Association with Bone Health in Healthy Premenopausal Women

“…Primary dietary sources of cadmium in Spain are said to be cereals and fish [ 36 ], which was confirmed by our observations. Analogous results were observed for the dietary exposure of mercury—fish was the primary dietary source [ 36 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ]. We observed a large contribution of cereals to total dietary lead exposure in two of the three considered heavy metals, together with fish and meat; this result supports previous investigations on the contribution of cereals to the dietary exposure of lead in Spain [ 69 ].…”

Drivers of the accumulation of mercury and organochlorine pollutants in Mediterranean lean fish and dietary significance

“…Despite their different origin and structure, OCs and Hg share common properties such as (I) strong chemical stability and environmental persistence, (II) bioconcentration in living organisms and biomagnification through the food chain due to their hydrophobic character and (III) toxicity for humans and wild animals. Methylmercury is a more toxic form than the original metal whose human intake is also attributed to fish and seafood (Calatayud et al, 2012;Garí et al, 2013;Perello et al, 2014;Cano-Sancho et al, 2015;Obeid et al, 2017).…”