title: Hair mercury concentrations in residents of Sundarban and Calcutta, India.
abstract: Few studies on hair mercury have been conducted in India despite the fact that India is the world's third largest producer of coal and coal is India's primary energy source. No studies have been conducted in the Indian state of West Bengal which has a coastline with the Bay of Bengal. This study examined the concentration of mercury in hair in two diverse populations in West Bengal, India: Sundarban, a mangrove wetland where fishing is a common occupation, and Calcutta, a megacity and India's oldest functioning port. Individuals from whom scalp hair was collected (N=100) were asked a series of questions on occupation, education, age, smoking and alcohol consumption, and fish consumption. SAS was utilized to generate descriptive statistics including frequency and univariate analyses and to perform regression analyses to determine significant predictors of hair mercury in this population. The mean hair mercury increased across the first three age categories (<21, 21-30, 31-45) and decreased in the fourth category (>45). Hair mercury concentration was significantly higher among residents of Sundarban compared to Calcutta (p=0.0005). In multivariable analysis, location (Sundarban vs. Calcutta) and age were significant predictors of hair mercury concentration (p=0.0120 and p=0.0161, respectively). Average hair mercury concentrations in this study were not particularly elevated. Smoking and alcohol consumption were predictors of hair mercury concentration. The hair mercury in Sundarban residents compared to Calcutta residents may be elevated due to greater consumption of fish and type of fish consumed.
authors.affiliation: Gibb Epidemiology Consulting, 3033 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, USA. Electronic address: herman.gibb@gibbepi.com.
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gibb
authors.affiliation: Gibb Epidemiology Consulting, 3033 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, USA.
authors.forename: Keri Grace
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: O'Leary
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, 700019 Calcutta, India.
authors.forename: Santosh Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia Marine Extension Service and Georgia Sea Grant, 715 Bay Street, Brunswick, GA 31520, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rainis
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia Marine Extension Service and Georgia Sea Grant, 715 Bay Street, Brunswick, GA 31520, USA.
authors.forename: Katy A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Mousumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017747:Seafood; D012907:Smoking / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Fish consumption; Fishing; Hair mercury; India; Methylmercury