title: The Association Between Blood Mercury Levels and Risk for Overweight in a General Adult Population: Results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
abstract: The primary objective of this study was to estimate the association between blood mercury levels and overweight in Korean adults. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 9228 participants (4283 men and 4945 women) who completed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2007-2013. The population was divided into two groups according to the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Blood mercury levels were analyzed using a gold amalgam method with a DMA-80 instrument, categorized into quartiles, and stratified by sex. After adjusting for all covariates, blood mercury was significantly associated with overweight in all subjects. According to the BMI criteria, the adjusted odds ratio of being in the highest blood mercury quartile was 1.75 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.53-2.01) overall, 2.09 (95 % CI, 1.71-2.55) in men, and 1.58 (95 % CI, 1.32-1.89) in women. According to the WC criteria, the adjusted odds ratio of being in the highest blood mercury quartile was 1.85 (95 % CI, 1.49-2.30) in men and 1.96 (95 % CI, 1.62-2.36) in women compared to the lowest quartile. Additionally, a trend in overweight across increasing blood mercury levels was observed by the p for trend test in the multiple diagnostic criteria.
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seunghyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Ha
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Incheon Worker's Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Uk
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Won
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Incheon Worker's Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Wanhyung
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Incheon Worker's Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: June-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Incheon Worker's Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hongdeok
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seok
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Incheon Worker's Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yeong-Kwang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chi-Nyon
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. JHROH@yuhs.ac.|Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. JHROH@yuhs.ac.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. JHROH@yuhs.ac.|Incheon Worker's Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea. JHROH@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Jaehoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury
keywords: Heavy metals; Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; Mercury; Overweight; Weight gain