Environmental Exposure to Mercury and Early Developmental Endpoints Among Women Undergoing IVF

Details

• Personal Author:
  Amarasiriwardena C ; Doyle JO ; Godfrey-Bailey L ; Hauser RB ; Pearson K ; Wright DL
• Description:
  Objective Despite widespread general population exposure to mercury (Hg), there is limited human data on potential reproductive health effects at environmental background levels. The objective was to determine the relation between hair Hg levels and early developmental endpoints in couples undergoing IVF. Design Prospective cohort study of couples presenting for infertility treatment at an academic hospital. Materials and methods In women undergoing IVF, the proximal 3-cm length of a hair sample was analyzed for total Hg content. The following endpoints for embryo quality and early developmental outcomes were collected: number oocytes retrieved, total number of mature oocytes, fertilization rate, and embryo grades (1-5, 1 being the best) on days 2, 3 and 5. Linear mixed effects regression models were used to explore the associations between these outcomes and hair Hg, accounting within-woman correlation of outcomes and controlling for maternal age. Results 22 women provided a hair sample with a mean (SD) hair Hg concentration of 2.1 parts per million (1.7), with a range 0.038 to 5.7 ppm. The median (25th, 75th %ile) was 1.6 ppm (0.5, 3.3). EPA reference dose is 1 ppm. Increased Hg levels were associated with decreased oocyte quantity, increased fertilization rate and decreased embryo quality, though none of the associations were statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Hg above 1 ppm was associated with a -3.025 (95% CI: -7.00, +0.95; P=0.16) change in number of oocytes retrieved and a -2.989 (95% CI: -6.45, +0.47; P=0.11) change in number of mature oocytes. Each 1 ppm increase in Hg was associated with an estimated 0.037 (95% CI: -0.02, 0.10; P=0.25) increase in fertilization rate. Each 1 ppm increase in Hg was associated with an estimated 0.070 (95% CI: -0.10, 0.24; P=0.43) increase in day 2 score, a 0.105 (-0.09, 0.30; P=0.29) increase in day 3 score, and a 0.215 (-0.06, 0.49; P=0.13) increase in day 5 score. Conclusions In this small patient sample, some women undergoing IVF had elevated hair Hg levels. We found some evidence of a relationship between hair Hg concentrations and oocyte quantity, and a trend of an association between hair Hg levels and poorer embryo quality. As this is an ongoing study, additional patients and IVF data will be included in future analyses. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Fetus Mercury Occupational Health Safety Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System Women
• Keywords:
  Developmental-disorders Embryotoxicity Environmental-exposure Fertility Mercury-compounds Reproductive-system-disorders
• ISSN:
  0015-0282
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  88
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033123
• Citation:
  Fertil Steril 2007 Sep; 88(Suppl 1):S306
• Contact Point Address:
  Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
• Email:
  rhauser@hohp.harvard.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fertility and Sterility
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2bfa3d26d72704ad3f9322748b0faee5bd4b917ec3b4307dcda8c36f64cf02d4b01f5d15722201afb8ebcedd7e5bb875a58f717f4b84dfa8f441502032723b07
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188820/cdc_188820_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 38.03 KB ]