Goodrich Jaclyn M, Chou Hwai-Nan, Gruninger Stephen E, Franzblau Alfred, Basu Niladri
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
American Dental Association, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2016 Jan-Feb;26(1):78-85. doi: 10.1038/jes.2015.52. Epub 2015 Sep 2.
Mercury (Hg) exposure, a worldwide public health concern, predominantly takes two forms--methylmercury from fish consumption and elemental Hg from dental amalgam restorations. We recruited 630 dental professionals from an American Dental Association meeting to assess Hg body burden and primary sources of exposure in a dually exposed population. Participants described occupational practices and fish consumption patterns via questionnaire. Hg levels in biomarkers of elemental Hg (urine) and methylmercury (hair and blood) were measured with a Direct Mercury Analyzer-80 and were higher than the general US population. Geometric means (95% CI) were 1.28 (1.19-1.37) μg/l in urine, 0.60 (0.54-0.67) μg/g in hair and 3.67 (3.38-3.98) μg/l in blood. In multivariable linear regression, personal amalgams predicted urine Hg levels along with total years in dentistry, amalgams handled, working hours and sex. Fish consumption patterns predicted hair and blood Hg levels, which were higher among Asians compared with Caucasians. Five species contributed the majority of the estimated Hg intake from fish--swordfish, fresh tuna, white canned tuna, whitefish and king mackerel. When studying populations with occupational exposure to Hg, it is important to assess environmental exposures to both elemental Hg and methylmercury as these constitute a large proportion of total exposure.
汞(Hg)暴露是一个全球性的公共卫生问题,主要有两种形式——通过食用鱼类摄入的甲基汞和来自牙科汞合金修复体的元素汞。我们从美国牙科协会会议上招募了630名牙科专业人员,以评估双重暴露人群的汞身体负担和主要暴露源。参与者通过问卷调查描述职业行为和鱼类消费模式。使用直接测汞仪-80测量元素汞(尿液)和甲基汞(头发和血液)生物标志物中的汞水平,这些水平高于美国普通人群。尿液中的几何均值(95%CI)为1.28(1.19-1.37)μg/l,头发中的几何均值为0.60(0.54-0.67)μg/g,血液中的几何均值为3.67(3.38-3.98)μg/l。在多变量线性回归中,个人汞合金修复体与牙科工作总年限、处理的汞合金修复体数量、工作时间和性别一起预测尿液汞水平。鱼类消费模式预测头发和血液中的汞水平,亚洲人的汞水平高于白种人。五种鱼类占鱼类汞摄入量估计值的大部分——旗鱼、新鲜金枪鱼、白色罐装金枪鱼、白鱼和马鲛鱼。在研究职业性汞暴露人群时,评估元素汞和甲基汞的环境暴露很重要,因为这些在总暴露中占很大比例。