Psychometric Evidence That Mercury from Silver Dental Fillings May Be an Etiological Factor in Depression, Excessive Anger, and Anxiety

Abstract

Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory were compared for 25 women who had silver dental fillings (amalgams) and for 23 women without amalgams. Women with amalgams had significantly higher scores and reported more symptoms of fatigue and insomnia. Anger scores from the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory showed that the women with amalgams had statistically significantly higher mean scores on expressing anger without provocation and experiencing more intense angry feelings. The women without amalgams scored significantly higher on controlling anger, which suggested they invested more energy in monitoring and preventing the experience and expression of anger. Anxiety scores from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory showed the women with amalgams scored significantly less pleasant, satisfied, happy, secure, and steady, and had a more difficult time making decisions. They had significantly higher Trait Anxiety scores. The women with amalgams also had significantly higher levels of mercury in the oral cavity before and after chewing gum. The study suggests that amalgam mercury may be an etiological factor in depression, excessive anger, and anxiety because mercury can produce such symptoms perhaps by affecting the neurotransmitters in the brain.

Neuropsychological dysfunction related to earlier occupational exposure to mercury vapor

“…Mercury intoxication has been reported to provoke changes in personality traits as a symptom of erethism (3,13). Alterations have been reported even at very low exposure concentrations, such as higher trait anxiety scores in women exposed to elemental mercury from dental amalgams compared to women with no dental fillings, attributed to a possible dysfunctional norepinephrine metabolism (40).…”

Consensus paper of the WFSBP Task Force on Biological Markers: Biological Markers in Depression

“…Research on manic patients, on the other hand, has revealed elevated vanadium in the hair, significantly higher levels than those measured in both a control group and a group of recovered manic patients (Naylor et al 1984). Numerous studies have found long-term chronic low doses of mercury cause neurological, memory, behaviour, sleep, and mood problems (Smith 1978;Kishi et al 1994;Siblerud et al 1994;Bittner et al 1998;Echeverria et al 1998). Mercury has been found to strongly inhibit the activity of dipeptyl peptidase (DPP IV), which is required in the digestion of the milk protein casein.…”

Neurofeedback Training: Integration with Diet and Detoxification Programs

“…Chronic exposure to mercury released from silver dental fillings may also produce depression, anxiety and excessive anger as mentioned by Siblerud et al (1994). In another clinical trial, 14 days exposure to dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) produced an initial increase in urinary mercury excretion by 65 percent and one statistical significant effect was a decrease in fatigue-inertia in the DMSA group versus the 36 JOURNAL OF NEUROTHERAPY placebo group (Englund et al, 1994).…”