title: Assessment of methylmercury exposure in Wisconsin.
abstract: Between January 2004 and June 2005 the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services recruited more than 2000 adults for a methylmercury (MeHg) exposure assessment study. Study participants, including 978 men and 1050 women who ranged in age from 18 to 92 years, completed a fish consumption and advisory awareness survey and provided hair samples for mercury analysis. Fish intake estimates ranged from 0 to 60 meals/month (mean 7.7). Hair mercury levels ranged from 0.012 to 15.2 microg/g and were positively correlated with monthly fish meals. Despite reporting similar fish consumption rates, men tended to have higher hair mercury levels than women. Mercury levels exceeded 1 microg/g in 29% of the men and 13% of the women and increased with age. Approximately, half of the study volunteers were licensed anglers and 77% were familiar with Wisconsin's sportfish consumption advisory. Among consumers of sport-caught fish, 37% of the men and 18% of the women had a hair mercury concentration above 1 microg/g. These findings suggest that exposure to MeHg is widespread and that men may be a previously unrecognized high risk population.
authors.affiliation: Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, 1 W Wilson St, Rm 150, Madison, WI 53703, USA. knobelm@dhfs.state.wi.us
authors.forename: Lynda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Knobeloch
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gliori
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001364:Awareness; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products / Q000032:analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014922:Wisconsin
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds