Methyl Mercury and Inorganic Mercury in Swedish Pregnant Women and in Cord Blood: Influence of Fish Consumption

Björnberg, Karolin Ask; Vahter, Marie; Petersson-Grawé, Kierstin; Glynn, Anders; Cnattingius, Sven; Darnerud, Per Ola; Atuma, Samuel; Aune, Marie; Becker, Wulf; Berglund, Marika

doi:10.1289/ehp.5618

Cited by 125 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The NECAT H-Hg values fall within the range seen in other studies of children (Benes et al 2002;Pesch et al 2002) and adults (Bjornberg et al 2003;Lindow et al 2003) in Northern Europe and the United Kingdom, but are lower than values reported from heavy fish-consuming populations in the UK, Asia, and Mediterranean regions (Batista et al 1996;Ip et al 2004;Murata et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussion Hair Hgsupporting

confidence: 82%

Scalp hair and urine mercury content of children in the Northeast United States: The New England Children's Amalgam Trial

Dunn

Trachtenberg

Barregård

et al. 2008

Environmental Research

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Children may be at particular risk from toxic effects of mercury (Hg). Previous studies of hair (organic) and urine (inorganic) Hg levels in US children were unable to assess Hg levels while accounting for exposure to amalgam dental restorations. This analysis describes, over a 5-year period, levels and correlates/predictors of scalp hair (H-Hg) and urinary (U-Hg) mercury in 534 New England Children's Amalgam Trial (NECAT) participants, aged 6-10 years and without exposure to dental amalgam at baseline. Results: Mean H-Hg levels were between 0.3 and 0.4 μg/g over 5 years. 17-29% of children had H-Hg levels ≥0.5μg/g, and 5.0 to 8.5% of children had levels ≥1μg/g, in any given study year. In adjusted models, fish consumption frequency was the most robust predictor of high H-Hg. U-Hg mean levels were between 0.7 to 0.9 μg/g creatinine over two years. The percentage of those with U-Hg≥2.3μg/g creatinine ranged from 4 to 6%. Number of amalgam restorations had a significant dose-response relationship with U-Hg level. Daily gum chewing in the presence of amalgam was associated with high U-Hg.

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Section: Discussion Hair Hgsupporting

confidence: 82%

Scalp hair and urine mercury content of children in the Northeast United States: The New England Children's Amalgam Trial

Dunn

Trachtenberg

Barregård

et al. 2008

Environmental Research

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“…27,28 This specific mechanism results in a higher concentration of mercury in cord blood, when compared with maternal blood, as shown in this and other studies. 29,30 In our study, 7.5% of cord bloods had mercury concentrations above 5.8 mg L À1 , a level associated with loss of IQ. 31 Follow-up studies of a cohort of children, by Faroe Island researchers, found significant dose-related, adverse associations between pre-natal exposure to mercury and intellectual performance indicators such as memory, attenuation, language, and visual-spatial perception.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

The placenta as a barrier for toxic and essential elements in paired maternal and cord blood samples of South African delivering women

et al. 2009

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“…Several investigators have evaluated self-reports of fish intake with blood concentrations of Hg and Se in women of childbearing age (45)(46)(47)(48) . Bates et al studied the contribution of fish and other foods to variance of Se and Hg status in British adults and concluded that dietary fish, especially oily fish, was a strong predictor of blood Hg and Se in this population (47) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of biomarkers for total fish intake in pregnant Norwegian women

Brantsæter

Haugen

Thomassen

et al. 2009

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: Few biomarkers for dietary intake of various food groups have been established. The aim of the present study was to explore whether selenium (Se), iodine, mercury (Hg) or arsenic may serve as a biomarker for total fish and seafood intake in addition to the traditionally used n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Design: Intake of fish and seafood estimated by an FFQ was compared with intake assessed by a 4 d weighed food diary and with biomarkers in blood and urine. Setting: Validation study in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Subjects: One hundred and nineteen women. Results: Total fish/seafood intake (median 39 g/d) calculated with the MoBa FFQ was comparable to intake calculated by the food diary (median 30 g/d, r S 5 0?37, P , 0?001). Erythrocyte DHA and blood Hg, Se and arsenic concentrations were positively correlated with intake of fish and seafood, but the association for DHA was weakened by the widespread use of supplements. The main finding was the consistent positive association between the intake of fish/seafood and blood arsenic concentration. In multivariate analyses, blood arsenic was associated with blood Hg and fish and seafood intake. In these models, arsenic turned out to be the best indicator of intake of fish and seafood, both totally and in subgroups of fish/seafood intake. Conclusions: While DHA reflected the intake of fatty fish and n-3 PUFA supplements, blood arsenic concentration also reflected the intake of lean fish and seafood. Blood arsenic appears to be a useful biomarker for total fish and seafood intake. Keywords Biomarkers Fish and seafood intakePregnant women Blood arsenic Erythrocyte DHA Assessing trends in eating habits and dietary patterns is an essential component in the surveillance of population health and the development of dietary advice and interventions. Dietary monitoring requires a tool validated in the target population, and biomarkers of dietary exposure may assist in uncovering the errors associated with the method in use (1) . For a biomarker to be used for validation of a dietary instrument, it should have a strong direct and independent relationship with the nutrient or food group of interest. Recovery biomarkers, like doubly labelled water (2) and urinary N (3) , are less influenced by the body's homeostatic control than concentration biomarkers, which are extensively used in spite of their weaker association with consumption (4) . Biomarkers that reflect the intake of a food group rather than a specific nutrient are scarce. Plasma carotenoids and urinary flavonoids have been used as biomarkers of fruit and vegetable groups (5,6) and plasma or tissue n-3 PUFA, mainly EPA and DHA, have been used as biomarkers of both total fish and fatty fish intake (7,8) . However, as lean or semi-lean fish and seafood comprise nearly two-thirds of the total fish intake in Norway (9) , a biomarker related to total fish/seafood intake rather than fatty fish and fish-oil supplements could contribute to better validation of this food group than EPA o...

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Methyl Mercury and Inorganic Mercury in Swedish Pregnant Women and in Cord Blood: Influence of Fish Consumption

Cited by 125 publications

References 22 publications

Scalp hair and urine mercury content of children in the Northeast United States: The New England Children's Amalgam Trial

Scalp hair and urine mercury content of children in the Northeast United States: The New England Children's Amalgam Trial

The placenta as a barrier for toxic and essential elements in paired maternal and cord blood samples of South African delivering women

Exploration of biomarkers for total fish intake in pregnant Norwegian women

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