title: Mercury, eicosapentanoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid demonstrate limited effect on plasma paraoxonase-1 activity and blood pressure among avid seafood consumers in the Long Island Study of Seafood Consumption, NY, USA.
abstract: Moderate fish consumption is recommended for prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have known beneficial effects on risk factors such as reducing blood pressure (BP) and increasing paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity. However concomitant methylmercury (MeHg) exposure from fish consumption may mitigate these benefits and the net effect on BP and PON-1 activity has not been extensively studied in western populations consuming diverse seafood types. We studied the correlation between EPA, DHA and Hg levels with BP and PON-1 activity in a population of avid seafood consumers.
  
  
  
  Two hundred and eighty-eight avid seafood consumers from Long Island, NY had blood samples drawn for total blood mercury (THg), plasma EPA and DHA levels, and plasma PON-1 activity. Average systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and pulse pressure (PP) were measured.
  
  
  
  Subjects' mean EPA+DHA was 4.9% total fatty acids, mean THg was 7.6mcg/L. Mean SBP was 122.5mmHg, mean DBP 70.3mmHg, mean PP 52.2mmHg and mean PON-1 activity 421.2U/L. THg was not associated with any of the BP measures in adjusted linear regression models; EPA+DHA was significantly inversely associated with PP (p=0.02). THg was associated with a significant increase in PON-1 activity (p=0.04), while EPA+DHA was associated with a significant decrease in PON-1 activity (p=0.007); although the size of the effects was small.
  
  
  
  Our findings suggest blood THg and serum DHA+EPA levels have limited relationship to BP and PON-1 activity, and may not be important modulators of these known CHD risk factors in this population of avid seafood consumers.
authors.affiliation: Depatment of Medicine, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Stony Brook University, United States.
authors.forename: Roxanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Qiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, United States; Stony Brook University Program in Public Health, United States. Electronic address: Jaymie.meliker@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Jaymie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meliker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D043303:Aryldialkylphosphatase / Q000097:blood*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004032:Diet; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D017747:Seafood
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; D043303:Aryldialkylphosphatase; C468406:PON1 protein, human; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Cardiovascular disease; DHA; EPA; Fish; Heart; Hg; Omega-3; PON-1