Department of Metallomics, Faculty of Medicine, Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Limbova 12, 833 03, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Department of Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Limbova 12, 833 03, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2019 Sep;191(1):16-26. doi: 10.1007/s12011-018-1585-6. Epub 2018 Nov 29.
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of low fish consumption on prenatal and early postnatal exposure to mercury species. The samples of umbilical cord blood and maternal milk as well as interviewer-administered questionnaires were collected from 142 Slovak mother-child pairs. The mean total mercury (THg) concentrations in cord blood and milk were 0.949 μg/L and 0.376 μg/kg, respectively. The mean methylmercury (MeHg) concentration in cord blood was 0.504 μg/L. Fish eaters had significantly higher cord blood MeHg concentrations than non-fish eaters (p = 0.030); no difference was found in milk or cord blood THg concentrations. The bivariate analysis showed a positive correlation between cord blood MeHg and consumption of sea fish and shellfish (r = 0.320, p < 0.001); after adjustment for the potential confounders, the association was weakened (β = 0.173, p = 0.059). Nevertheless, the decision tree method showed sea fish and shellfish consumption to be the best predictor of cord blood MeHg. Furthermore, a negative association was found between THg concentrations in maternal milk and freshwater fish consumption (β = - 0.193, p = 0.017), which might indicate a beneficial effect of freshwater fish consumption. The results suggest there is a need for future research to investigate the benefits versus the adverse effects of low maternal fish consumption on child development.
本研究旨在探讨低鱼类摄入量对产前和产后早期汞暴露的影响。研究人员从 142 对斯洛伐克母婴对子中采集了脐血和母乳样本以及访谈者管理的问卷。脐血和母乳中总汞（THg）的平均浓度分别为 0.949μg/L 和 0.376μg/kg，脐带血中甲基汞（MeHg）的平均浓度为 0.504μg/L。食用鱼类的人脐带血 MeHg 浓度明显高于非食用鱼类的人（p=0.030）；母乳或脐带血 THg 浓度无差异。双变量分析显示脐带血 MeHg 与食用海鱼和贝类呈正相关（r=0.320，p<0.001）；在调整潜在混杂因素后，相关性减弱（β=0.173，p=0.059）。然而，决策树方法表明，食用海鱼和贝类是脐带血 MeHg 的最佳预测因素。此外，母乳中 THg 浓度与淡水鱼摄入量呈负相关（β=-0.193，p=0.017），这可能表明淡水鱼摄入量具有有益的影响。研究结果表明，未来需要研究低母亲鱼类摄入量对儿童发育的益处与不良影响。
