Longitudinal assessment of mercury exposure in schoolchildren in an urban area of the Brazilian Amazon.
This study was a longitudinal assessment of mercury exposure in schoolchildren in an urban area of the Brazilian Amazon. The study population consisted of 90 children whose exposure levels were assessed by testing mercury levels in the umbilical cord blood and mothers' blood samples in 2000-2001, and in the children's hair and blood samples. The study also used a questionnaire on demographic and socioeconomic data, fish consumption, and self-reported disease history. Mean mercury level in hair in 2010 was approximately 1 µg/g, ranging up to 8.22 µg/g, similar to 2004 and 2006. These figures can be explained by low fish consumption. Mean blood mercury levels at birth exceeded 10 µg/L, ranging up to nearly 60 µg/L, which indicates mercury transfer across the placenta. There was a significant increase in blood mercury from 2004 to 2006 (p < 0.001), suggesting exposure through air pollution. The main exposure to mercury was during pregnancy.
Instituto de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. lenadutra@uol.com.br
Marilene Danieli Simões
MD
Dutra
Iracina Maura de
IM
Jesus
Elisabeth C de Oliveira
EC
Santos
Marcelo de Oliveira
Mde O
Lima
Renato Lopes Fernandes de
RL
Medeiros
Marcia
M
Cavadas
Ronir Raggio
RR
Luiz
Volney de Magalhães
Vde M
Câmara
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood*; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008906:Mining; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000175:diagnosis; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D008628:Mercury