Cano-Pérez Eder, Gómez-Camargo Doris, Malambo-García Dacia
Doctorado en Medicina Tropical, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia.
Grupo de Investigación UNIMOL, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, Bolívar, 13001, Colombia.
F1000Res. 2025 Jan 17;13:946. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.154617.3. eCollection 2024.
Contamination of Cartagena Bay, Colombia with heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) presents a major environmental and public health concern, particularly for human communities residing on nearby islands and coastal areas. These populations face enhanced exposure risks owing to their traditional fishing practices and continuous interactions with polluted marine environments. This study aimed to evaluate the genotoxic effects of environmental exposure to Hg and Cd in populations from the island zone of the Cartagena district, Bolívar.
Ninety-four individuals from the four island communities (study group) and 30 individuals from the urban area of Cartagena (control group) participated in this study. The blood samples were collected to measure total mercury (T-Hg) and Cd concentrations, and a Buccal Micronucleus Cytome (BMCyt) assay was used to evaluate exposure effects.
Cadmiun levels in the blood of the study group were within the normal range and comparable to those of the control group (p > 0.05). However, the study group exhibited significantly higher T-Hg levels (7.34 μg/L) compared to the control group (2.01 μg/L), surpassing the accepted limit. Moreover, the study group showed a higher incidence of DNA damage and cell death biomarkers (p < 0.05). Additionally, significant correlations were observed between total blood Hg levels and the frequencies of micronuclei, karyorrhexis, and karyolysis.
These results suggest that island populations of Cartagena are exposed to high levels of Hg and exhibit genotoxic damage, indicating a problem that must be addressed.
哥伦比亚卡塔赫纳湾被汞（Hg）和镉（Cd）等重金属污染，这成为一个重大的环境和公共卫生问题，尤其是对于居住在附近岛屿和沿海地区的人类社区而言。这些人群由于其传统的捕鱼方式以及与受污染海洋环境的持续互动，面临着更高的暴露风险。本研究旨在评估玻利瓦尔省卡塔赫纳区岛屿区域人群因环境暴露于汞和镉而产生的遗传毒性效应。
来自四个岛屿社区的94名个体（研究组）和来自卡塔赫纳市区的30名个体（对照组）参与了本研究。采集血样以测量总汞（T-Hg）和镉浓度，并使用口腔微核细胞分析法（BMCyt）评估暴露效应。
研究组血液中的镉水平在正常范围内，与对照组相当（p>0.05）。然而，与对照组（2.01μg/L）相比，研究组的总汞水平显著更高（7.34μg/L），超过了可接受的限值。此外，研究组显示出更高的DNA损伤和细胞死亡生物标志物发生率（p<0.05）。此外，观察到血液中总汞水平与微核、核碎裂和核溶解频率之间存在显著相关性。
这些结果表明，卡塔赫纳的岛屿人群暴露于高水平的汞并表现出遗传毒性损伤，这表明这是一个必须解决的问题。
