Scalp hair mercury concentrations in Pakistan.
The presence of mercury in the environment is widespread and persistent, but the extent of exposure of Pakistanis to mercury is virtually unknown. We collected toenail and scalp hair samples from 158 subjects (83 males and 75 females) residing in Lahore and its suburbs. We also conducted a questionnaire survey and personal interviews to obtain information on demographic factors, lifestyles, and socioeconomic factors, among others. Mercury concentration in hair samples was measured by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS). In addition, the concentration of selenium in the toenail and hair samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The mean hair mercury concentration was 0.45 ppm (95% CI = 0.34-0.60) and did not show correlation with fish consumption, age, area of origin, or present residence. Mercury concentration was higher (p = 0.021) in females than in males, and was also higher in subjects with 11 or more years of education (p for trend = 0.013). There were 13 subjects with mercury concentration higher than 10 ppm. Most of them were young females and a few were middle-aged males. When the analysis was confined to subjects with mercury concentrations lower than 0.6 ppm, the amount of fish consumed showed correlation with hair mercury concentration with a marginal statistical significance (p = 0.065). The geometric means of selenium in hair and toenails were 0.87 and 1.01 ppm, respectively. Mercury and selenium concentrations in hair showed no correlation (correlation coefficient = 0.057, p = 0.478). This study shows that mercury exposure levels among residents in Lahore and its suburban areas are relatively low, except among outliers, wherein mercury exposure might be brought about by the use of mercury-containing soaps.
Anwar
Muhammad
M
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan. manwar@m3.kufm.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
Ando
Tetsuo
T
Maaz
Ahmad
A
Ghani
Sidra
S
Munir
Muhammad
M
Qureshi
Ihtesham-ud-din
IU
Naeem
Samina
S
Tsuji
Mayumi
M
Wakamiya
Junji
J
Nakano
Atsuhiro
A
Akiba
Suminori
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products / Q000009:adverse effects; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008019:Life Style / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009262:Nails / Q000737:chemistry; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012535:Scalp / Q000737:chemistry; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning; D012737:Sex Factors; D012915:Soaps / Q000009:adverse effects
D012915:Soaps; D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium