title: Mercury in scalp hair of healthy Singapore residents.
abstract: Two hundred and twenty-five hair samples (150 Chinese, 44 Malays and 31 Indians) from healthy residents not occupationally exposed to mercury were analyzed by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine their total, inorganic and organic mercury levels. The arithmetic means of total mercury levels in hair were 6.1, 5.2 and 5.4 ppm for the Chinese, Malays and Indians, respectively. Factors contributing to the amount of mercury in hair, including consumption of fish and marine products, use of traditional ethnic medicines, artificial hair waving, age, sex and ethnicity were analyzed. Fish consumption, sex and ethnicity are factors found to contribute significantly (p less than 0.05) to mercury levels in hair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, National University of Singapore.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Ngim
authors.forename: W O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Phoon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D006197:Hair / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008296:Malaysia / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009941:Organomercury Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D012535:Scalp; D012846:Singapore
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D009941:Organomercury Compounds; D008628:Mercury