Preventive Medicine Department, Doctor Peset University Hospital, Valencia, Spain.
Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, Valencia, Spain.
Environ Res. 2023 Aug 15;231(Pt 2):116204. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116204. Epub 2023 May 20.
The toxic effects of mercury exposure on human health are a public health concern. The most important source of this exposure is the consumption of fish and marine mammals. This study aims to describe hair mercury concentrations and their evolution from birth until eleven years of age in adolescents from the INMA (Environment and Childhood) birth cohort study, and to assess the association of hair mercury concentrations at eleven years of age with sociodemographic and dietary factors. The sample comprised 338 adolescents from the sub-cohort of Valencia (in eastern Spain). Total mercury (THg) was measured in hair samples collected at 4, 9 and 11 years old and in cord blood at birth. The equivalent of hair for cord-blood THg concentrations was calculated. Fish consumption and other characteristics at 11 years old were collected through questionnaires. Multivariate linear regression models were conducted to explore the association between THg concentrations, fish consumption and covariates. The geometric mean of hair THg concentrations at 11 years of age was 0.86 μg/g (95%CI: 0.78-0.94) and 45.2% of the participants presented concentrations above the equivalent RfD proposed by the US EPA (1 μg/g). Consumption of fish such as swordfish, canned tuna and other large oily fish was associated with higher levels of hair mercury at 11 years of age. Swordfish had the highest effect with an increase of 125% in hair mercury (95%CI: 61.2-214.9%) given a 100 g/week increase in its consumption, and, taking into account the frequency of consumption, canned tuna was the main contributor to Hg exposure among our population. The hair THg concentrations at 11 years of age represented a reduction of around 69% with respect to that estimated at childbirth. Even though THg exposure shows a sustained decreasing trend, it can still be considered elevated. INMA birth cohort studies provide a longitudinal assessment of mercury exposure in a vulnerable population, its associated factors and temporal trends, and this information could be used to adjust recommendations about this issue.
汞暴露对人类健康的毒性影响是一个公共卫生关注点。这种暴露的最重要来源是食用鱼类和海洋哺乳动物。本研究旨在描述 INMA（环境与儿童）出生队列研究中青少年从出生到 11 岁时的头发汞浓度及其演变，并评估 11 岁时头发汞浓度与社会人口学和饮食因素的关联。该样本包括来自西班牙东部瓦伦西亚子队列的 338 名青少年。在 4、9 和 11 岁以及出生时采集的头发样本中测量总汞（THg）。计算了脐带血中 THg 浓度对应的头发当量。通过问卷收集 11 岁时的鱼类消费和其他特征。采用多元线性回归模型探讨 THg 浓度、鱼类消费与协变量之间的关系。11 岁时头发 THg 浓度的几何平均值为 0.86μg/g（95%CI：0.78-0.94），45.2%的参与者头发中汞浓度超过美国环保署（EPA）提出的 RfD 等效值（1μg/g）。食用箭鱼、金枪鱼罐头和其他大型油性鱼等鱼类与 11 岁时头发汞水平升高有关。食用箭鱼每周增加 100 克，头发中汞含量增加 125%（95%CI：61.2-214.9%），其影响最大，考虑到食用频率，金枪鱼罐头是我们人群中汞暴露的主要来源。与出生时相比，11 岁时头发 THg 浓度降低了约 69%。尽管 THg 暴露呈持续下降趋势，但仍被认为偏高。INMA 出生队列研究提供了对脆弱人群中汞暴露、相关因素和时间趋势的纵向评估，这些信息可用于调整有关这一问题的建议。
