Total Blood Mercury Predicts Methylmercury Exposure in Fish and Shellfish Consumers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Congleton J ; Kopylev L ; Nachman R ; Radke EG ; Segal D ; Wells EM
• Description:
  Many studies evaluating methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity rely on whole blood total mercury (THg) measurements to estimate MeHg exposure. However, whole blood THg includes other forms of mercury (Hg), such as inorganic Hg, which have different exposure sources and toxicological effects than MeHg. Therefore, estimating the whole blood MeHg/THg ratio is critical to predicting MeHg exposure and, subsequently, efforts to establish an exposure-response relationship for use in risk assessment. A large, representative dataset (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2016) was used to determine the whole blood MeHg/THg ratio among (a) self-reported fish and shellfish consumers, ≥ 15 years of age (the "full adult" population (N = 5268 training dataset; N = 2336 test dataset)) and (b) female fish and shellfish consumers, 15-44 years of age (the "women of reproductive age" population (N = 1285 training dataset; N = 560 test dataset)). Unadjusted and adjusted linear and spline models with direct measurements for both THg and MeHg were evaluated. The mean whole blood MeHg/THg ratio was 0.75 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74, 0.75). This ratio was significantly higher among those with higher THg concentrations. All models exhibited excellent fit (adjusted R2 from 0.957 to 0.982). Performance was slightly improved in spline versus linear models. For the full adult population and women of reproductive age, the unadjusted spline model predicted whole blood MeHg concentrations of 5.65 µg/L and 5.55 µg/L, respectively, when the THg concentration was 5.80 µg/L. These results suggest that whole blood THg is a good predictor of whole blood MeHg among fish and shellfish consumers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomarkers Blood Hematologic Tests Mercury Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Mercury Biological Monitoring Blood Samples Dietary Effects Food Contaminants Methylmercury NHANES Reproductive Age Seafood
• ISSN:
  0163-4984
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  200
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067264
• Citation:
  Biol Trace Elem Res 2022 Aug; 200(8):3867-3875
• Contact Point Address:
  Deborah Segal, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC, NW, 20460, USA
• Email:
  Segal.Deborah@epa.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6) ; Monomethylmercury (CAS RN 16056-34-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010701
• Source Full Name:
  Biological Trace Element Research
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:310e42c1aec8cbf3a52902f0098b46d2fba127fa449496e757f423805b83a29f4b2242e3d46c7c068298675237ec12d47a01fe2da645b14778f8f3f2aa34e212
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231377/cdc_231377_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 816.24 KB ]